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THE  INTERNATIONAL  MOLDERS 
UNION  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


SERIES  XXXIX  NO.  3 


JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY  STUDIES 

IN 

Historical  and  Political  Science 

Under  the  Direction  of  the 

Departments  of  History,  Political  Economy,  and 
Political  Science 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  MOLDERS 
UNION  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


BY 


FRANK  T.  STOCKTON,  PH.D. 

Professor  of  Economics,  University  of  South  Dakota 


BALTIMORE 

THE  JOHNS   HOPKINS  PRESS 

19SZ 


Copyright  1922 
THE  JOHNS  HOPKINS  PRESS 


PRESS  OF 

THE  New  ERA  PRINTINO  COMPANT 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


bst  IndoB. 
fieL 


TO 

MARGARET  STANSBURY  STOCKTON 


^  G93442 

X  INST.  mmis.  RBt. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface   ix 

Chapter  I.  The  Rise  of  the  Early  Local  Unions  ii 
Chapter       II.    The   Founding  of   the   International 

Union    17 

Chapter      III,     Government    24 

Chapter      IV.     Jurisdiction 41 

Chapter       V.     Membership    57 

Chapter      VI.     Finance   70 

Chapter    VII.     Mutual  Insurance 85 

Chapter  VIII.     The  Control  of  Strikes   100 

Chapter      IX.     National  Collective  Bargaining 116 

Chapter       X.     The  Standard  Rate 137 

Chapter      XI.     The  Hours  of  Labor 159 

Chapter    XII.     Apprentices  and  Helpers  170 

Chapter  XIII.     Molding  Machinery'    186 

Chapter  XIV.     The  Closed  Shop,  the  Label  and  the 

Boycott 203 


vu 


PREFACE 

While  the  writer  was  a  graduate  student  at  the  Johns 
Hopkins  University,  he  wrote  a  monograph  on  the  closed 
shop  in  American  trade  unions.  This  work  led  to  a  desire 
to  study  a  single  representative  American  trade  union  with 
respect  to  all  its  policies  and  problems.  Largely  upon  the 
advice  of  Professor  George  E.  Barnett,  the  Holders'  Union 
was  selected  for  investigation. 

A  considerable  part  of  the  present  volume  has  been 
published  in  installments  in  the  International  Holders' 
Journal.  Parts  of  two  articles  which  were  published  orig- 
inally in  the  Journal  of  Political  Economy:  "Agreements 
between  American  and  European  Holders'  Unions,"  and 
"  The  Holders  and  the  Allied  Hetal  Trades,"  are  here  re- 
printed. The  writer  wishes  to  express  his  appreciation  of 
the  courtesy  shown  by  the  editors  of  these  journals  in  per- 
mitting him  to  use  these  articles. 

The  writer  is  indebted  to  all  of  the  national  officers  of 
the  Holders'  Union  for  many  helpful  suggestions.  In  par- 
ticular he  wishes  to  express  his  appreciation  for  the  interest, 
encouragement,  and  ready  assistance  he  has  received  at  all 
times  from  Editor  John  P.  Frey.  In  preparing  the  manu- 
script for  printing  the  writer  has  received  valuable  help 
from  his  wife. 

F.  T.  S. 


THE  INTERNATIONAL  MOLDERS  UNION 
OF  NORTH  AMERICA 


CHAPTER  I 
The  Rise  of  the  Early  Local  Unions 

In  America  the  iron  molding  industry  "  can  hardly  be 
said  to  date  back  farther  than  the  year  1820,"  although  sev- 
eral scattered  foundries  existed  before  that  time.^  By  1830 
the  number  of  establishments  had  greatly  increased  and 
many  journeymen  were  employed  at  such  centers  as  Albany, 
Troy,  Philadelphia,  New  York,  Taunton,  and  Pittsburgh, 
Hollowware  was  originally  the  chief  product,  but  stoves 
and  machinery  soon  came  to  be  important  parts  of  the  gen- 
eral output. 

The  working  hours  of  the  early  molders  were  long  and 
indefinite.  Heats  were  frequently  run  all  day  and  all  night, 
Sundays  included,  because  the  cupola  as  yet  had  not  been 
introduced.  Workmen  casting  at  night  often  slept  beside 
their  furnaces.  In  some  instances  molders  were  required 
to  furnish  tools  and  facing  materials,  and  frequently  were 
compelled  to  pay  for  broken  or  damaged  patterns.  Wages 
were  low.  Payment  was  made  partly  in  money  and  partly 
in  store  orders,  truck,  and  due  bills.  In  some  sections 
molders  were  fined  for  reporting  late,  but  were  given  noth- 
ing extra  for  overtime. 

It  is  not  remarkable  that  labor  organized  for  its  protec- 
tion when  such  conditions  prevailed.  The  date  of  the 
formation  of  the  first  local  union  of  molders  cannot  be 
ascertained  with  certainty  from  existing  records.  It  is 
clear,  however,  that  an  "  Association  of  Moulders  "  existed 
in  Philadelphia  as  early  as  1833.     On  November  14,  1833, 

*  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  October,  1888,  p.  2. 

II 


12  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [4OO 

the  Philadelphia  Trades'  Union  was  organized.  In  an 
"  Address  to  Mechanics  and  Working  Men "  which  ap- 
peared in  the  Pennsylvanian,  January  9,  1834,  it  was 
stated  that  "  the  Moulders  "  were  among  the  "  Trades  and 
Societies  .  .  .  represented  in  the  Union."  ^  In  April,  1836, 
the  Iron  Molders  were  reported  as  having  made  a  dona- 
tion of  ten  dollars  to  the  Trades'  Union.  As  other  organi- 
zations contributed  from  fifty  to  three  hundred  dollars,  it 
is  likely  that  the  molders  had  a  comparatively  weak  union. 
The  chief  purpose  of  the  association  was  doubtless  that  of 
trade  regulation. 

In  March,  1834,  the  Iron  Founders  were  among  the 
fourteen  societies  sending  delegates  to  the  General  Con- 
vention of  the  Trades  of  Boston.^  In  February,  1835,  del- 
egates from  the  Albany  "  Founders,  Machinists  and  Mill- 
wrights "  participated  in  a  meeting  of  "  mechanics'  associa- 
tions "  to  form  a  General  Trades'  Union  for  Albany  and 
vicinity.  In  1836  the  Founders  and  Machinists  were  still 
represented  in  the  Union.  It  seems  quite  likely  that  the 
"  founders "  of  Troy  and  Schenectady  were  also  organized 
in  1835.  On  March  i,  1836,  the  United  States  Iron  Mold- 
ers' Association  of  the  City  of  Pittsburg  and  the  County  of 
Allegheny  was  instituted.*  All  of  these  unions  were 
brought  into  existence  by  "  hard  times  "  and  they  disinte- 
grated with  the  passing  of  economic  depression. 

By  1848  business  conditions  had  again  become  bad,  and 
at  the  same  time  a  great  increase  had  taken  place  in  Euro- 
pean immigration.  Wages  fell,  foundries  closed  and  un- 
employment followed.  To  meet  this  situation  the  molders 
first  tried  productive  cooperation.  In  the  fall  of  1847  the 
Cincinnati  stove-plate  molders  struck  against  a  cut  in 
wages.  When  the  strike  failed,  they  formed  the  Journey- 
men Molders'  Union  Foundry.     This  enterprise  succeeded 

2  Reprinted  in  Commons  and  Sumner,  Documentary  History  of 
American  Industrial  Society,  vol.  v,  pp.  341,  348. 

3  Ibid.,   vol.   vi,   p.   90.     Reprinted    from    The   Man,    March    12, 

1834,  p.  3. 
*  International  Molders'  Journal,  November,   1908,  p.  757. 


40l]  RISE   OF   THE   EARLY   LOCAL   UNIONS  I3 

for  a  few  years,  but  finally  failed.  That  a  trade  union  was 
formed  at  this  time  seems  doubtful.  The  term  Union  in 
the  name  of  the  foundry  probably  meant  nothing  more  than 
"cooperative."  In  November,  1849,  ^  cut  in  wages  led  to 
a  strike  by  unorganized  Pittsburgh  molders  who  later  estab- 
lished cooperative  foundries  at  Wheeling,  West  Virginia, 
Steubenville,  Ohio,  and  Sharon,  Pennsylvania.  These  con- 
cerns maintained  their  cooperative  character  only  for  a 
brief  period  and  it  became  necessary  for  the  defeated  strikers 
to  return  to  their  old  jobs.^ 

The  next  experiment  tried  by  the  molders  was  the  for- 
mation of  friendly  and  beneficial  societies.  On  June  25, 
1849,  the  Friendly  Society  of  Iron  Moulders  of  America 
was  formed  in  New  York  City.  "  This  organization,  like 
others  of  its  type  in  other  cities,  was  conducted  largely  as 
a  mutual  insurance  association,  having  provisions  for  sick 
and  death  benefits,  but  paying  little  attention  to  protective 
or  restrictive  trade  regulations."^  In  1850  the  New  York 
molders  sent  a  delegate  to  the  Workingmen's  Convention, 
or  Industrial  Congress,  held  by  forty-three  local  benevolent 
and  protective  societies.'^  On  August  19,  1854,  they  ob- 
tained a  charter  under  the  New  York  law  of  1848  provid- 
ing for  the  incorporation  of  benevolent,  charitable  and  mis- 
sionary societies.  The  corporate  name  adopted  was  that 
of  The  Journeymen  Iron  Moulders'  Society.  The  "  par- 
ticular business  and  objects  of  said  Society  "  were  declared 
to  be  "  to  promote  the  mutual  benefit  and  encourage  UNION 
among  the  members  and  associates  .  .  .  and  to  administer 
BENEVOLENT  aid  to  the  unfortunate  members  there- 
of." ®  From  this  it  would  appear  that  the  society  con- 
sidered "  union  "  quite  as  important  as  "  benevolent  aid." 

After  1850  a  change  in  emphasis  from  fraternalism  to 

5  H.  E.  Hoagland,  *'  The  Rise  of  the  Iron  Molders'  International 
Union,"  in  American  Economic  Review,  June,  1913,  pp.  297-299. 

«  Ibid.,  p.  299. 

''  Commons,  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial  Society, 
vol.  viii,  p.  285.  Reprinted  from  the  New  York  Semi-Weekly 
Tribune,  June  5,  1850,  p.  7. 

8  From  original  charter  preserved  at  the  Cincinnati  headquarters. 


14  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS   UNION  [402 

trade  unionism  took  place  in  the  molders'  societies.  An 
era  of  rising  prices  began  and  increases  in  wages  were  de- 
manded. In  the  fall  of  1852  seven  Cincinnati  molders 
formed  a  temporary  organization  which,  on  January  3, 
1853,  became  the  Moulders'  Association.  The  society 
"  was  a  secret  order  whose  sole  object  was  the  promotion 
of  fraternity  among  fellow  craftsmen  and  their  protection 
as  mechanics,  .  .  .  The  young  organization  filled  a  popular 
want  and  it  grew  apace."  Its  militant  character  is  clearly 
evidenced  by  the  inscription  placed  upon  a  banner  devised 
as  an  emblem  "  round  which  the  members  might  rally." 
This  read :  "  Moulders'  Association.  Wielding  a  strong 
arm  in  the  Mechanics'  Legion,  we  stand  united  for  our 
rights."  ®  According  to  tradition,  the  association  did  not 
hesitate  to  wield  its  "  strong  arm "  for  higher  wages  and 
better  conditions  whenever  deemed  expedient,  and  the  be- 
nevolent features  were  of  secondary  importance.  A  second 
local  union  of  this  period  which  had  a  militant  character 
was  the  Journeymen  Iron  Moulders'  Association,  Section 
No.  I,  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  This  society,  or- 
ganized at  Philadelphia  early  in  1853,  had  as  its  main  object 
an  increase  in  wages.^°  The  years  1853  and  1854  proved 
to  be  so  prosperous  for  laborers,  that  interest  in  organiza- 
tion declined  and  the  association  soon  passed  out  of  exist- 
ence. 

In  the  winter  of  1854-1855  a  business  depression  occurred. 
Employers  found  themselves  burdened  with  excess  stocks. 
Workmen  were  laid  ofif  and  a  period  of  unemployment  set 
in,  which  lasted  well  into  the  year  1855.  Taking  advantage 
of  the  trade  depression,  f  oundrymen  began  to  reduce  wages. 
The  Philadelphia  stove  and  hollowware  manufacturers  in- 
stituted a  series  of  reductions.  On  May  16,  1855,  they 
gave  notice  of  a  reduction  of  fifteen  per  cent.  The  im- 
mediate result  was  the  formation  of  a  new  association  in 
Philadelphia  which  later  became  Local  Union  No.  i  of 
the  International  Union.     This  organization  still  lives  and 

^  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  November,  1897,  pp.  503-504. 
1°  Hoagland,  p.  300. 


403]  RISE   OF   THE   EARLY   LOCAL   UNIONS  1 5 

holds  the  honor  of  being  the  oldest  local  union  in  the  in- 
dustry with  a  continuous  existence. 

Joseph  A.  Barford,  a  molder  employed  in  Liebrant  and 
McDowell's  foundr>',  headed  the  revolt  and  thus  became 
"the  father  of  No.  i."  The  story  as  described  in  his  own 
words  follows : 

The  burden  became  unbearable  and  the  worm  at  length  turned. 
Smarting  under  a  sense  of  injustice  done  me  one  day,  I  threw  my 
rammer  into  the  sand  heap  and  with  a  terrible  oath,  swore  I  would 
not  make  another  mold  at  such  prices.  I  was  the  first  man  to  do 
this  and  in  the  light  of  subsequent  developments,  base  my  claim  to 
being  the  oldest  union  molder  upon  my  action  that  day.  James 
Horn  was  my  partner  that  day,  and  I  asked  him  if  he  would  stay 
with  me.  He  said,  yes;  I  then  went  to  every  man  in  the  shop  and 
all  but  two  agreed  to  make  common  cause.^^ 

Other  shops  were  then  notified  of  the  plan  to  force  an 
issue.  Their  cooperation  was  secured,  a  meeting  was  held, 
and  shortly  afterwards  a  strike  was  called  in  all  but  one 
of  the  stove  and  hollowware  shops.  At  the  end  of  ten 
weeks  the  firms  granted  an  increase. 

On  June  i6,  1855,  the  temporary  organization  formed 
for  conducting  the  strike  gave  way  to  a  permanent  union, 
known  as  the  Journeymen  Stove  and  Hollow-ware  Mould- 
ers' Union  of  Philadelphia.  In  its  constitution  the  union 
stated  that  it  proposed  to  secure  "  the  elevation  of  the 
position,  the  maintenance  of  the  interest  of  the  Craft,  the 
regulation  of  prices,  and  all  other  things  appertaining  to 
the  Foundry  business,  in  which  the  interest  of  the  molders 
under  its  jurisdiction  may  be  involved."  ^^  Provision  was 
made  for  limiting  the  number  of  helpers  and  apprentices, 
but  the  main  interest  of  the  union  lay  in  the  preservation  of 
a  fair  rate  of  wages. 

In  1857  a  molders'  union  was  formed  at  Dayton,  Ohio, 
which  existed  secretly  for  some  time.  In  1855  a  union  was 
formed  at  Reading,  Pennsylvania,  which  disbanded  within 
a  few  months.     In  the  same  year  a  union  of  brass  molders, 

11  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  March,  1902,  p.  129. 

12  Journeymen  Stove  and  Hollow-ware  Moulders'  Union  of  Phila- 
delphia, Constitution  and  By-Laws,  1855,  art.  i,  sec.  2.  The  con- 
stitution was  signed  by  ninety-seven  charter  members. 


1 6  THE  INTERNATIONAL  MOLDERS  UNION  [404 

finishers,  grinders  and  brass  foundry  employees  was  or- 
ganized in  Chicago.  It  had  a  short  and  uneventful  life. 
On  April  28,  1858,  a  local  union  was  organized  at  Troy, 
New  York,  as  the  result  of  the  work  of  five  or  six  molders 
who  had  been  holding  secret  meetings  for  over  a  year. 
The  chief  objects  of  the  union  were  to  maintain  prices,  to 
abolish  individual  contracts,  and  to  discontinue  the  employ- 
ment of  helpers.  On  February  9,  1859,  a  molders'  union 
was  formed  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts,  and  on  June  2, 
1859,  there  was  organized  the  Journeymen  Iron  Molders' 
Union  of  Buffalo,  composed  chiefly  of  "  stove-platers." 
On  March  10,  1859,  a  union  was  formed  at  Albany  by  stove 
molders  as  a  result  of  the  low  wages  and  the  "  rules  and 
obnoxious  conditions "  growing  out  of  the  panic  of  1857. 
The  molders  of  Waterford,  New  York,  were  on  strike  in 
May,  1859,  but  there  is  no  direct  evidence  that  they  had 
a  union. 

Data  concerning  all  the  local  unions  formed  prior  to 
July  5,  1859,  is  unobtainable.  We  do  know,  however,  that 
on  that  date  the  molders  were  organized  in  Philadelphia, 
Cincinnati,  Buffalo,  Troy,  Albany,  Peekskill,  Utica,  Port 
Chester,  Stamford,  Providence,  Worcester,  Jersey  City, 
Baltimore,  Louisville,  St.  Louis,  Wilmington,  Delaware,  and 
in  two  or  three  Canadian  cities. 

The  history  of  the  early  unions  may  be  summed  up  by 
saying  that,  except  for  their  fraternal  features,  they  had 
their  rise  in  specific  grievances  such  as  cuts  in  wages  and 
abuses  of  the  helper  system.  For  the  first  twenty  years  of 
organization  they  were  stormy-weather  aft'airs  which  dis- 
appeared with  the  sunshine  of  prosperous  years.  From 
1855  onward,  however,  they  began  to  enjoy  a  permanent 
existence  and  to  keep  watch  over  all  the  industrial  interests 
of  their  members. 


CHAPTER  II 
The  Founding  of  the  International  Union 

The  panic  of  1857  gave  rise  to  conditions  in  the  molding 
industry  which  were  very  similar  to  those  which  caused 
the  first  unions  to  be  formed.  Wage  reductions  took  place 
and  the  journeymen  were  subjected  to  many  "  odious  rules  " 
relating  to  contracts,  helpers,  tools,  rental  of  molding  floors, 
payment  in  truck  and  the  like.  Against  the  evils  of  the  day 
the  individual  local  unions  were  able  to  make  but  little 
progress.  Heavy  decreases  in  membership  during  1857- 
1858  continually  threatened  them  with  disruption.  In  1857 
the  Philadelphia  union  was  able  to  prevent  a  wage  reduc- 
tion, but  severe  defeats  were  suffered  by  the  unions  of 
Albany,  Port  Chester,  and  Providence  in  1859  when  they 
struck  to  secure  the  payment  of  wages  in  cash,  apprentice 
restriction,  and  the  restoration  of  1856-1857  prices.  The 
loss  of  these  battles  was  due  partly  to  lack  of  funds  and 
partly  to  the  ease  with  which  the  employers  secured  strike- 
breakers from  near-by  towns.  Since  many  of  the  "  scabs  " 
came  from  places  where  other  local  unions  existed,  and 
since  the  individual  unions  were  financially  weak,  the  im- 
portance of  securing  some  cooperation  between  the  scat- 
tered organizations  became  manifest. 

Another  factor  in  combining  the  local  unions  was  a 
threatened  combination  of  employers.  During  the  Albany 
strike  of  1859  the  foundrymen  of  that  city  organized  to 
resist  the  demands  made  upon  them  and  they  proposed  to 
employers  in  other  cities  the  formation  of  a  militant 
Founders'  League.  While  some  of  the  interests  approached 
were  favorable  to  the  movement,  the  Philadelphia  foundry- 
men,  who  seem  to  have  had  an  association  of  their  own, 
opposed  it,  feeling  that  they  were  strong  enough  to  cope 
with  the  local  situation  without  entering  into  entangling 
2  17 


1 8  THE  INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [406 

alliances.  Owing  to  the  influence  possessed  by  the  Philadel- 
phia element,  the  project  was  abandoned.^  The  mere  sug- 
gestion of  such  a  combination,  however,  must  have  made 
the  journeymen  realize  their  helplessness  as  long  as  the  local 
unions  remained  separate. 

In  1853  and  1854  the  local  unions  first  began  to  corre- 
spond.^ Letters  written  at  this  time  were  the, real  beginnings 
of  national  organization.  By  1858  the  Troy  and  Philadel- 
phia unions,  especially,  were  in  active  contact  with  each 
other.  In  1859  Troy  voted  to  affiliate  free  of  charge 
any  molder  who  presented  a  paid-up  card  from  the  Phil- 
adelphia union.^  During  the  early  part  of  1859  the  Troy 
molders  also  visited  or  corresponded  with  the  local  unions 
of  Albany,  Peekskill  and  Port  Chester,  On  May  19  they 
donated  fifty  dollars  to  a  group  of  molders  on  strike  at 
Waterford.  It  is  important  to  observe,  finally,  that  when 
the  Journeymen  Iron  Holders'  Union  of  Buffalo  was  formed 
in  June,  1859,  it  adopted  a  constitution  similar  to  that  of 
the  Philadelphia  union.  Beyond  all  doubt  there  "  had 
been  close  communication  between  the  molders  of  the  two 
cities."* 

The  strongest  local  union  in  the  late  fifties  was  that  of 
Philadelphia.  Its  leading  spirit  was  William  H.  Sylvis. 
On  April  10,  1858,  at  Sylvis's  suggestion,  the  Philadelphia 
body  opened  active  correspondence  with  molders'  organiza- 
tions in  other  cities.  On  December  14  it  appointed  a  com- 
mittee, of  which  Sylvis  was  made  secretary,  which  ad- 
dressed a  circular  to  all  known  unions,  pointing  out  the  de- 
sirability of  a  general  convention.  Since  the  replies  to  the 
circular  uniformly  favored  some  plan  of  cooperation,  the 
committee  on  June  15,  1859,  issued  a  call  for  a  convention 
to  meet  at  Philadelphia  on  July  5. 

When  the  convention  assembled  there  were  in  attendance 

1  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  November,  1888,  p.  2.  According  to  one 
statement  the  Albany  employers  were  organized  as  early  as  1856 
(Ibid.,  March,  1877,  p.  306). 

2  Hoagland,  p.  300. 

3  Minutes,  MS.  Troy  local  union,  February  17,  1859. 

*  International  Molders'  Journal,  November,  191 1,  p.  850. 


407]  FOUNDING    OF    THE    INTERNATIONAL    UNION  1 9 

thirty-two  delegates  representing  twelve  local  unions.^ 
Louisville  and  Stamford  did  not  send  delegates,  but  for- 
warded letters  pledging  their  support  to  whatever  measures 
might  be  adopted.  After  three  days'  deliberation  the  con- 
vention adopted  a  provisional  constitution  for  a  "  National 
Union  of  Iron  Molders."  In  the  preamble  it  was  boldly 
advanced  that  "  in  the  formation  of  a  national  organization, 
embracing  every  molder  in  the  country,  a  union  founded 
upon  a  basis  broad  as  the  land  in  which  we  live,  lies  our 
only  hope."  The  constitution  itself,  however,  left  the  Na- 
tional Union  little  more  than  a  weak  advisory  organization, 
or  an  alliance  of  individual  units.  It  was  provided  that  the 
National  Union  should  "  possess  original  jurisdiction  in  all 
matters  pertaining  to  the  fellowship  of  the  craft  in  the 
United  States,"  and  that  it  should  "  be  the  ultimate  tribunal 
to  which  all  matters  of  general  importance  to  the  welfare  of 
the  members  of  the  different  unions  shall  be  referred  and  its 
decisions  thereon  shall  be  final  and  conclusive."  To  it  was 
also  reserved  "the  power  to  determine  the  customs  and 
usages  in  regard  to  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  craft." " 
A  "  union  card  "  was  established  for  use  by  traveling  mem- 
bers whereby  they  were  to  be  admitted  free  of  charge  to  all 
affiliated  unions.  Semi-annual  reports  were  required  of 
the  locals,  very  moderate  imposts  were  levied  for  the  support 
of  the  general  organization,  and  it  was  voted  that  any  local 
which  refused  to  abide  by  the  "laws  and  decisions"  of 
the  national  union  should  be  expelled.  The  convention  also 
raised  funds  for  the  prosecution  of  a  strike  in  progress  at 
Albany. 

The  first  convention  adjourned  to  meet  again  in  six 
months'  time  at  Albany.  At  the  second  meeting,  which 
began  January  lo,  i860,  there  were  present  46  delegates 
representing  17  local  unions.     On  January  11  it  was  for- 

"  Delegates  were  distributed  as  follows:  Philadelphia,  10;  Troy, 
5;  Albany,  5;  St.  Louis,  Jersey  City,  and  Providence,  2  each; 
Utica,  Wilmington,  Peekskill,  Port  Chester,  Cincinnati,  and  Balti- 
more, I  each. 

^  Proceedings,  1859,  p.  9. 


20  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [408 

mally  adopted,  on  motion  of  Sylvis,  "  that  this  convention 
does  now  resolve  itself  into  a  national  union."  ^  Thus, 
while  July  5,  1859,  is  accepted  by  the  Molders  as  their 
birthday,  the  general  union  as  such  was  not  established  until 
i860  when  the  provisional  constitution  of  the  year  previous, 
with  minor  amendments,  was  officially  accepted.  Little 
other  business  of  importance  was  transacted  at  this  con- 
vention save  that  of  ordering  the  publication  of  a  quarterly 
report. 

When  the  third  convention  assembled  in  1861,  44  or- 
ganized local  unions  were  reported,  a  gain  of  26  in  one 
year.  Only  42  delegates,  however,  were  present.  It  was 
decided  to  number  the  local  unions  according  to  their  senior- 
ity. Number  i  going  to  Philadelphia.  Attention  was  also 
given  to  improving  the  machinery  of  the  union.  An  interna- 
tional aspect  was  given  the  convention  for  the  first  time  by 
the  seating  of  delegates  from  the  Canadian  cities  of  Quebec, 
Toronto,  Hamilton  and  Brantford.^ 

Hard  upon  the  heels  of  the  encouraging  1861  session 
came  the  Civil  War.  Hundreds  of  molders  enlisted. 
Among  those  who  volunteered  for  service  were  many  of  the 
national  leaders,  including  Sylvis.  The  national  union,  de- 
prived of  its  chieftains  and  a  large  per  cent  of  its  mem- 
bers, "almost  ceased  to  exist"  after  May,  1861,  and  the 
end  of  that  year  "  saw  the  work  of  the  previous  three  years 
nearly  undone."  ^  Many  local  unions  rapidly  disintegrated 
as  their  members  left  for  the  front.  So  hopeless  was  the 
^situation  that  there  was  not  even  a  call  for  a  convention  in 
1862.  Among  the  few  local  unions  which  survived  the 
^first  year  of  the  war  was  the  Philadelphia  union,  which,  by 
a  hard  struggle,  had  been  able  to  accumulate  a  small  fund 
in  its  treasury.  About  the  middle  of  1862  Sylvis  returned 
from  the  army  and  once  more  he  took  charge.     At  his 

T  Ibid.,  i860,  p.  2. 

8  Six  Canadian  unions  were  formed  in  1859,  the  four  mentioned, 
together  with  unions  in  Montreal  and  London. 

» International  Journal,  April,  1874,  p.  322 ;  Iron  Molders'  Journal, 
February,  1889,  p.  6. 


409]         FOUNDING    OF    THE    INTERNATIONAL    UNION  21 

suggestion  the  Philadelphia  union  appointed  a  committee  to 
canvass  the  other  surviving  unions  as  to  the  desirability  of 
calling  a  convention.  The  local  unions  all  returned  favor- 
able replies  to  the  convention  circular.  Accordingly,  the 
Philadelphia  union  sent  out  a  call  for  a  meeting  to  be  held 
at  Pittsburgh  on  January  6,  1863. 

Twenty-one  delegates  representing  fourteen  unions  at- 
tended the  convention.  The  session  began  literally  with- 
out a  head  since  not  a  single  national  officer  was  present. 
The  great  services  of  Sylvis  were  recognized  by  his  im- 
mediate election  to  the  presidency.  From  the  day  of  that 
vote  the  Holders  entered  upon  a  new  era.  Under  the 
leadership  of  Sylvis  the  constitution  was  largely  rewritten, 
so  far  as  those  clauses  dealing  with  the  powers  of  the  "  gen- 
eral" union  were  concerned.  These  powers  were  enlarged 
and  more  clearly  defined.  The  language  of  the  constitution 
was  altered  to  suggest  that  the  general  body  was  not  so 
much  the  creature  of  the  locals  as  it  was  their  sponsor  and 
controller.  True,  certain  powers  were  spoken  of  as  being 
reserved  to  the  local  unions,  but  these  powers,  as  evidenced 
by  subsequent  developments,  were  not  exempt  from  the 
encroachments  of  the  general  union. 

The  all  important  problem  which  confronted  the  Union 
was  that  of  organizing  the  workers.  Evidently  this  task 
could  best  be  accomplished  through  the  International 
Union,^°  but  this  organization  was  handicapped  by  lack  of 
funds.  What  was  done,  therefore,  was  to  authorize  Sylvis 
to  devote  six  months  to  visiting  every  locality  where  there 
had  been  a  local  union  or  where  there  were  enough  mold- 
ers  to  form  such  a  body,  and  to  pay  his  own  way  the  best 

1°  As  noted  above,  the  first  name  assumed  by  the  general  organi- 
zation was  that  of  the  National  Union  of  Iron  Molders.  In  1861 
the  name  was  changed  to  the  Iron  Molders'  Union  of  America 
in  order  to  recognize  the  Canadian  locals.  In  1863  the  name  of 
the  Iron  Molders'  International  Union  was  assumed.  In  1874  the 
title  became  the  Iron  Molders'  Union  of  North  America.  In  1907 
the  name  now  used,  the  International  Molders'  Union  of  North 
America,  was  assumed  to  give  adequate  expression  to  existing 
trade  and  territorial  jurisdiction.  The  central  organization  will 
hereafter  be  spoken  of  as  the  International  Union. 


22  THE  INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [4IO 

he  could.  On  February  3,  1863,  Sylvis  accepted  the  heavy 
responsibihty  placed  upon  him  and  started  out  upon  the 
"tour  of  experiment."  His  old  union.  No.  i,  gave  him 
$100  for  his  initial  expenses.  From  time  to  time  other 
local  unions,  as  he  visited  them,  contributed  to  his  support. 
When  he  ran  out  of  cash  altogether  he  secured  his  trans- 
portation and  living  like  a  tramp.  He  covered  the  entire 
country  as  far  west  as  St.  Louis,  except  the  states  in  re- 
bellion, and  visited  some  of  the  local  unions  two  or  three 
times.  By  his  personal  efforts  all  of  the  existing  unions 
were  strengthened,  sixteen  were  reorganized  and  eighteen 
new  ones  were  added.^'-  Thus  at  the  close  of  the  year  the 
Holders  could  boast  once  more  of  a  vigorous  and  healthy 
organization,  fifty  local  unions  strong.  For  this  remark- 
able accomplishment  alone,  if  for  no  other  reason,  Sylvis 
became  entitled  to  the  distinction  of  being  the  greatest  labor 
leader  of  his  period. 

In  spite  of  the  loss  of  an  important  strike  at  Philadel- 
phia in  1863,  the  Union  continued  to  make  rapid  progress 
during  the  next  four  years  under  the  energetic  leadership 
of  Sylvis.  In  1866  it  was  even  strong  enough  to  weather 
a  general  lockout  which  began  at  Troy  and  Albany,  and 
spread  westward.  About  1,800  men  were  involved  in  this 
difficulty,  which  was  the  consummation  of  the  organized 
employers'  opposition  that  had  been  gradually  growing 
since  1861.  On  July  27,  1868,  Sylvis  suddenly  died.  His 
loss  was  so  unexpected  and  so  seriously  felt  "as  almost 
to  produce  a  panic  in  the  organization."  Without  the 
guidance  of  the  "Great  Chief  "  many  unionists  had  "  fear- 
ful forebodings  of  evil,"  but  the  Molders  were  so  well  es- 
tablished that  they  continued  to  enjoy  a  steady  growth  in 
numbers  and  discipline  as  the  years  went  on.  It  would 
not  be  far  from  the  truth,  however,  to  say  that  the  story 
of  the  Molders  down  to  August,  1868,  was  the  story  of 
William  H.  Sylvis. 

It  is  impossible  to  secure  satisfactory  data  concerning  the 

11  Proceedings,  1864,  p.  5. 


41 1]         FOUNDING    OF    THE    INTERNATIONAL    UNION 


23 


growth  in  the  Molders'  membership  because  the  membership 
figures  have  not  been  pubHshed  regularly.  Since  1907  the 
union  has  steadily  reported  but  50,000  members  to  the  Amer- 
ican Federation  of  Labor  in  order  to  conceal  its  real 
strength  from  hostile  forces.  It  is  the  writer's  guess  that 
the  present  membership  is  close  to  75,000.  In  the  follow- 
ing table  figures  are  given  only  for  convention  years. 


Local 

Member- 

Local 

Member- 

Year 

Unions 

ship 

Year 

Unions 

ship 

1859 

12 

700* 

1876 

94 

4,000* 

i860 

18 

1,000* 

1879 

83 

2,854 

1861 

44 

3,000^ 

1882 

151 

10,000* 

1863 

15 

2,000° 

1886 

136 

13,000* 

1864 

76 

3.500^ 

1888 

171 

16,000* 

1865 

122 

6,788 

1890 

235 

23,000* 

1866 

III 

7,366 

1895 

231 

20,000** 

1867 

149 

8,615 

1899 

260 

28,941 

1868 

113 

4,885 

1902 

383 

54,251 

1870 

103 

3,860 

1907 

467 

50,000 

1872 

107 

5,000* 

1912 

434 

50,000 

1874 

127 

7,500 

1917 

424 

50,000 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  panic  year  of  1873  hit  the 
Molders  hard.  Since  the  slump  in  membership  continued 
until  1879  a  large  part  of  the  blame  for  the  continued 
weakness  may  be  attributed  to  the  maladministration  of 
that  period.  The  1893  panic  also  fell  heavily  upon  the 
order,  yet  it  was  weathered  more  easily  than  that  of  1873. 
The  recent  decrease  in  the  number  of  local  unions  is  to  be  at- 
tributed to  consolidations. 

'  Writer's  estimate. 
*  Union  estimate. 


CHAPTER  III 
Government 

The  International  Union,  its  Convention  and  Officers. — 
The  first  convention  of  the  Molders'  Union  in  1859  was 
attended  by  representatives  from  twelve  local  unions.  Each 
union  had  been  asked  to  send  one  delegate  from  every  shop 
under  its  jurisdiction.  This  procedure  was  followed  till 
1863  when  it  was  provided  that  local  unions  having  less 
than  100  members  should  be  entitled  to  one  delegate,  and 
that  those  having  over  100  and  less  than  300  should  have 
two  delegates.  For  all  members  over  300  an  additional 
representative  was  allowed.  Except  for  the  brief  period 
from  1884  to  1886,  when  a  system  of  representation  by  dis- 
tricts obtained,  the  delegates  have  been  elected  by  the  local 
unions.  The  only  important  change  in  the  system  has  been 
the  lowering  of  the  ratio  of  representation  of  the  larger 
unions.  The  present  rule,  in  force  since  1902,  allows  one 
representative  for  every  union  with  a  membership  of  200 
or  less  and  an  additional  representative  for  every  additional 
200  members  or  a  "  majority  fraction  "  thereof.  The  lower- 
ing of  the  ratio  has  been  due  chiefly  to  the  need  of  limiting 
the  size  of  the  convention  both  to  save  expenses  and  for 
parliamentary  reasons.  Reduction  in  the  ratio  has  also 
been  in  part  attributable  to  the  fear  that  a  few  large  local 
unions  might  be  able  to  "  swing  the  convention  "  contrary 
to  the  interests  of  the  small  unions.  The  Molders  have 
not  experienced  the  bitter  fights  between  small  and  large 
unions  which  have  occurred  in  other  organizations,  but  the 
small  unions  have  been  jealous  of  losing  power,  and  have 
persistently  stood  out  for  their  place  in  the  sun.  In  1874 
there  were  87  delegates;  in  1899,  221;  in  1912,  405;  and 
in  1917,  415. 

24 


4I3J]  GOVERNMENT  25 

Down  to  1870  conventions  met  annually.  Biennial  ses- 
sions were  then  held  till  1882,  when  quadrennial  meetings 
were  inaugurated.  In  1886  biennial  conventions  were  re- 
stored. In  1890  it  was  provided  that  "representative  meet- 
ings "  should  be  held  every  two  years,  "  unless  otherwise 
decided  by  a  majority  of  a  popular  vote  of  the  members 
of  all  local  unions."  In  1902  the  period  between  conven- 
tions was  lengthened  to  three  years.^  In  the  early  years 
frequent  conventions  were  necessary  because  the  organiza- 
tion was  an  experiment  which  needed  constant  oversight. 
Gradually,  however,  a  solid  basis  was  achieved  and  adequate 
administrative  machinery  was  perfected.  The  need  for 
conventions  then  grew  less.  Another  reason  why  the 
interval  between  conventions  was  lengthened  was  the  cost 
of  such  meetings.  Again,  the  increased  use  of  the  initiative 
and  referendum  obviated  the  need  for  frequent  conven- 
tions, especially  after  1890.  Conventions  have  been  held 
at  five  year  periods  since  1902. 

With  the  Molders  the  convention  has  been  both  a  par- 
liament and  a  court.  Its  legislative  and  judicial  powers 
have  been  unrestricted  except  where  popular  voting  has 
been  substituted.  Yet  the  convention  has  been  the  creator 
of  the  popular  vote,  and,  in  that  sense,  has  been  superior 
to  it.  The  exact  relations  between  the  convention  and  the 
initiative  and  referendum  will  be  considered  later. 

The  first  convention  created  the  offices  of  president,  vice- 
president,  recording  secretary,  corresponding  secretary, 
treasurer  and  doorkeeper.  The  existing  officers  are  a  pres- 
ident, seven  vice-presidents,  a  secretary,  an  assistant  sec- 
retary, a  financier,  an  assistant  financier,  seven  trustees  and 
an  editor. 

Practically  from  the  outset,  the  president  has  been  the 
acknowledged  leader  of  the  union  and  not  a  mere  figure- 
head. He  now  has  two  functions,  executive  officer  and 
chief  organizer.     As  executive  officer  he  presides  at  con- 

1  Proceedings,  1859,  p.  n;  1886,  pp.  45,  57;  1890,  p.  73;  1902, 
p.  748. 


26  THE  INTERNATIONAL  MOLDERS  UNION  [414 

ventions,  decides  all  constitutional  questions,  appoints  all 
officers  pro  tempore  and  all  committees  "not  otherwise 
ordered,"  and  countersigns  all  orders  drawn  on  the  treas- 
urer. With  the  executive  board's  consent  he  may  recall 
charters  in  localities  where  officers  are  either  incompetent 
or  negligent  or  when  a  local  union  fails  to  be  self-sustaining. 
He  may  require  information  from  any  officer  respecting 
his  office.  All  local  union  by-laws  must  be  approved  by 
him  and  all  circulars  sent  out  by  local  unions  must  be  sent 
to  him  for  inspection  and  approval  before  they  are  sub- 
mitted to  the  other  unions. 

As  chief  organizer  he  has  "  full  control  of  the  work  of 
organization  "  and  it  is  his  duty  "  to  see  that  every  locality 
capable  of  maintaining  a  union  is  "  attended  to  and  a 
thorough  and  systematic  effort  made  to  organize  it."  More- 
over, "  should  any  union  be  involved  in  trouble  in  regard 
to  prices  or  principle,  or  in  any  case  where  a  grievance  is 
submitted  to  the  (executive)  board,"  the  president  must 
visit  it  in  person  or  by  deputy.  A  full  report  of  his  ac- 
tivities must  be  submitted  to  each  convention  and  to  each 
meeting  of  the  executive  board.^  For  many  years  the 
president  acted  more  as  chief  organizer  than  as  executive 
officer.  Gradually,  however,  his  duties  as  executive  officer 
have  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  most  of  his  time  is 
required  at  headquarters. 

Especially  during  the  early  years  of  the  union  the  pres- 
ident stretched  his  authority  whenever  occasion  required. 
President  Sylvis  once  declared  that  "  should  the  emergency 
demand  it,"  he  "  would  lay  the  constitution  on  the  shelf  and 
do  what  seemed  necessary  to  save  the  organization,  believ- 
ing that  it  was  better  to  have  an  organization  without  a 
constitution  than  a  constitution  without  an  organization." 
In  view   of   such  crises   Sylvis   believed  that  "large   dis- 

2  Constitution,  1917,  art.  4,  sees.  4,  5.  In  1867  a  "  deputy  presi- 
dent "  was  temporarily  created  for  the  Pacific  Coast  on  account 
of  its  inaccessibility.  He  was  given  all  the  powers  of  the  presi- 
dent and  was  required  to  report  to  headquarters  at  least  every 
three  months. 


415]]  GOVERNMENT  27 

cretionary  powers "  should  be  lodged  in  his  office  so  that 
the  union  might  be  largely  under  the  control  of  "  one 
mind."^  At  present,  if  extraordinary  circumstances  re- 
quire that  a  strict  interpretation  of  the  constitution  be 
disregarded,  the  executive  board  decides  what  action  is 
to  be  taken. 

Until  1863  each  local  union  chose  a  vice-president  for 
the  national  organization  from  among  its  representatives  at 
the  convention.  Where  a  union  had  but  one  delegate  he 
served  as  vice-president  and  he  also  filled  the  office  of 
corresponding  secretary.  In  1863  a  vice-president  for  the 
national  union  as  a  whole  was  elected  although  the  old 
system  of  having  a  vice-president  and  corresponding  rep- 
resentative from  each  local  union  was  continued.  In  1864 
two  additional  general  vice-presidents  were  elected,  and 
the  number  has  been  increased  from  time  to  time. 

The  early  vice-presidents  had  no  very  specific  duties  to 
perform.  Occasionally  they  were  deputized  to  act  in  the 
president's  place  when  the  latter  was  unable  to  attend  per- 
sonally to  some  business  of  his  office.  Since  1890  they 
have  been  "  assistant  organizers  "  subordinate  to  the  pres- 
ident. Together  with  their  chief  they  now  promote  the 
work  of  organizing  new  local  unions*  and  serve  as  the 
"  diplomats  and  negotiators "  of  the  organization.  They 
are  the  president's  deputies  in  handling  important  griev- 
ances which  the  latter  lacks  time  to  manage.  Their  wide 
experience  in  this  connection  has  made  them  wise  counsel- 
lors of  local  unions  and  skilled  interpreters  of  agreements. 
As  "  legislative  agents "  some  of  the  vice-presidents  have 
also  done  considerable  service.     Like  the  stafif  of  a  com- 

3  Proceedings,  1867,  p.  ii.  Sylvis  was  accused  at  this  time  of 
exceeding  his  authority  in  levying  a  voluntary  five  per  cent  tax  on 
local  unions  to  finance  a  strike  and  in  appointing  a  deputy  treas- 
urer for  the  territory  west  of  the  Mobile-Detroit  line.  He  also 
acted  without  constitutional  authority  in  maintaining  a  "  secret 
service "  to  keep  him  informed  of  hostile  employers'  plans.  The 
convention  refused  to  pay  the  bill  incurred  by  this  action,  but  up- 
held the  tax. 

*  At  present  the  actual  task  of  organizing  largely  falls  upon  local 
business  agents  and  special  organizers. 


28  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [416 

mander-in-chief,  the  vice-presidents  may  be  sent  to  any 
part  of  the  field.  It  has  become  customary  to  confine  them 
for  a  part  of  their  time  to  certain  districts  or  to  certain 
branches  of  the  trade  where  their  services  are  most  useful. 
It  is  not  the  policy  of  the  organization,  however,  to  limit 
its  vice-presidents  to  special  fields  since  their  value  is  greatly 
increased  if  they  have  a  wide  grasp  of  affairs.  Suggestions 
to  the  effect  that  each  branch  of  the  trade  be  represented 
by  a  vice-president  have  been  rejected  on  the  ground  that 
the  union  stands  for  the  molding  trade  as  a  whole  and  not 
for  a  group  of  trade  branches.  It  has  so  happened,  how- 
ever, that  the  various  branches  have  been  fairly  well  rep- 
resented on  the  staff. 

At  the  first  convention  the  president  and  the  vice-pres- 
idents were  constituted  a  "  national  executive  committee  "  to 
meet  at  the  call  of  the  president,  "  whenever  it  may  be  con- 
sidered necessary  by  any  local  union."  When  duly  con- 
vened the  committee  became  "  invested  with  all  the  au- 
thority of  the  national  union,  the  making  of  laws  ex- 
cepted," ^  This  arrangement  was  continued  only  for  a  short 
time,  as  it  was  impossible  to  assemble  the  widely  scattered 
vice-presidents.  In  1867  the  four  general  vice-presidents 
were  named  a  board  of  trustees  to  hold  the  treasurer's 
bond.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  present  executive 
board  or  board  of  trustees,  as  it  is  sometimes  called.  In 
1876  we  find  the  board  composed  of  "  three  members  in 
good  standing,  elected  by  the  convention,  other  than  of- 
ficers," who  held  the  treasurer's  bond  and,  in  conjunction 
with  the  president,  attended  to  the  investment  of  all  union 
funds.  The  board  was  given  power,  individually  or  jointly, 
to  require  "  full  and  detailed  statements "  from  the  pres- 
ident and  treasurer  concerning  their  financial  transactions. 
Its  members  could  also  "  make  official  statements  through 
the  Journal  on  any  matter  connected  with  their  offices,"* 
Should  a  vacancy  occur  in  any  office,  other  than  that  of 

5  Proceedings,  1859,  p.  10, 
« Ibid.,  1876,  p,  82. 


41 7^  GOVERNMENT  29 

president  or  corresponding  secretary,  or  should  any  officer 
fail  to  perform  his  duty  for  the  space  of  three  months,  the 
president  was  to  declare  the  office  vacant  and  the  trustees 
were  to  fill  the  vacancy.  To  the  president  and  the  vice-pres- 
idents was  left  the  power  of  declaring  an  end  to  any  strike 
whenever  they  felt  satisfied  that  such  strike  was  lost.  If 
charges  were  preferred  against  an  elective  international  of- 
ficer, the  vice-presidents  and  the  trustees  sat  as  an  "ex- 
ecutive board  "  to  try  the  case. 

In  1878  a  new  and  powerful  executive  board  came  into 
existence.  It  was  composed  of  the  four  vice-presidents 
and  the  three  trustees.  To  this  body,  acting  in  conjunction 
with  the  president,  were  granted  all  "  executive  powers " 
of  the  union,  except  when  conventions  were  in  session. 
The  president's  position  was  made  something  like  that  of  a 
corporation  head  dealing  with  his  board  of  directors.  Thus, 
he  was  required  to  secure  the  consent  of  the  executive 
board  before  visiting  and  inspecting  subordinate  unions, 
and  to  "  lay  all  matters  of  interest "  to  the  union  before  the 
board.  He  was  also  required  to  share  with  the  board  the 
power  to  decide  "  the  meaning  and  intent "  of  any  section 
of  the  constitution.  The  board  was  authorized  to  hear  all 
charges  preferred  against  elective  officers  of  the  union,  to 
fill  vacancies  in  office,  and  to  terminate  strikes.''  The  trus- 
tees as  a  separate  body  were  left  to  deal  only  with  financial 
matters  while  the  vice-presidents  as  such  were  confined  to 
organizing  and  negotiation  under  the  direction  of  the  pres- 
ident. The  new  board  soon  found  itself  in  conflict  with 
President  Saffin  who  denied  it  the  right  to  supervise  his 
actions.  Since  the  constitution  explicitly  granted  it  super- 
visory authority,  the  board  insisted  upon  exercising  its 
functions.  The  dispute  became  heated  and  the  board  finally 
preferred  charges  of  embezzlement  against  the  president, 
tried  his  case,  found  a  verdict  of  guilty,  and  secured  from 
the  local  unions  a  vote  declaring  the  office  of  president 
vacant.     After  this  episode  the  right  of  the  board  to  have 

'  Ibid.,  1878,  pp.  42,  44,  48-50. 


30  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [418 

full  control  over  all  matters  of  interest  to  the  union  went 
unchallenged. 

The  present  executive  board  is  based  on  legislation  en- 
acted in  1886.  It  is  composed  of  the  president  and  the 
trustees,  of  whom  there  are  seven.  The  president  sits 
with  the  board  but  does  not  vote  except  where  a  tie  occurs 
through  the  death,  resignation,  or  removal  of  a  member. 
The  board  decides  all  policies  of  the  union,  except  when  con- 
ventions are  in  session,  has  supervision  over  all  officers,  con- 
ference boards  and  local  unions,  hears  appeals  from  decisions 
by  the  president,  and  approves  or  vetoes  proposed  amend- 
ments to  the  constitution  offered  by  local  unions  for  referen- 
dum vote.®  The  trustees  as  such  still  have  supervision  over 
the  finances,  including  the  payment  of  benefits  of  various 
kinds.  So  closely  is  the  work  of  the  trustees  and  executive 
board  related  that  the  two  bodies  might  as  well  be  consolidated 
under  a  single  name.  At  present  the  board  meets  fre- 
quently, often  for  sessions  lasting  for  a  week  or  ten  days. 

The  Initiative  and  Referendum. — When  the  national 
union  was  formed  in  1859  it  was  provided  that  its  con- 
stitution might  be  amended  only  at  a  "stated  meeting"  of 
the  union.  Two  years  later  the  committee  on  constitution 
was  instructed  to  "  inquire  into  the  expediency  of  so  amend- 
ing the  constitution  as  to  render  the  sanction  of  a  majority 
of  the  subordinate  unions  necessary  for  any  future  amend- 

8  "  The  board  of  trustees,  more  commonly  known  as  the  executive 
board,  consists  of  members  chosen  by  a  convention  and  selected 
w^ith  2.  viewr  not  only  to  their  abihty  to  fill  the  important  duties 
that  will  fall  to  their  share,  but  to  represent  as  nearly  as  possible 
every  section  of  our  broad  jurisdiction  and  its  diversified  interests. 
Their  duties  do  not  bring  them  so  clearly  in  the  limelight;  their 
names  are  not  brought  so  prominently  before  our  members  or  the 
community;  but,  none-the-less,  their  duties  are  as  important  as 
those  of  any  officer.  They  are  the  watchdogs  over  the  funds  of  our 
organization;  they  are  the  court  of  final  appeal  of  all  questions  af- 
fecting the_  laws  of  our  organization  between  conventions;  they  are 
the  administrators  of  the  policies  of  the  convention  that  selected 
them  and,  finally,  they  have  the  deciding  voice  in  the  action  to  be 
taken  by  local  unions  in  defending  our  principles  or  in  bettering 
their  conditions.  They  are,  in  a  word,  the  final  and  supreme  au- 
thority in  all  matters  affecting  the  interest  or  welfare  of  our 
membership,  excepting  only  the  convention  itself"  (International 
Holders'  Journal,  August,  1913,  p.  671). 


419]  GOVERNMENT  3 1 

ment  or  alteration."  ^  It  was  not  until  1868,  however,  that 
provision  was  made  for  amending  the  constitution  by  pop- 
ular action.  It  was  now  provided  that  five  or  more  local 
unions  might  initiate  a  constitutional  change  by  proposing 
an  amendment  to  the  general  president.  The  latter  was 
then  ordered  to  "  issue  a  circular  to  each  union  containing 
the  said  amendment,  the  vote  to  be  taken  under  such  reg- 
ulations as  the  president  may  adopt,  the  vote  in  all  cases  to 
be  published  in  the  Journal,  or  by  circular,  .  .  .  each  union  to 
have  as  many  votes  as  .  .  .  representatives."  To  carry  a 
measure  in  this  way  a  three-fourths  majority  was  required.^" 
In  1879  the  approval  of  the  executive  board  was  re- 
quired before  a  circular  containing  a  proposal  for  constitu- 
tional amendment  could  be  issued.  Since  it  was  believed 
that  this  plan  safeguarded  the  organization  against  rash 
schemes,  a  bare  majority  of  the  popular  vote  was  substituted 
for  a  three-fourths  majority  of  the  local  unions  to  carry  a 
submitted  measure  and  a  single  subordinate  union  was 
allowed  to  initiate  constitutional  alterations.  At  the  1888 
convention  it  was  provided  that  proposals  should  "be  left 
open  for  discussion  in  the  Journal  for  three  successive 
issues  "  before  a  vote  was  taken,^^  In  1895  it  was  stipu- 
lated that  "in  the  event  of  a  proposed  amendment  not  re- 
ceiving the  sanction  of  the  executive  board,  on  the  appeal  of 
ten  local  unions,  the  executive  board  shall  publish  in  the 
Journal  their  reasons  for  disapproval,  and  the  secretary 
shall  send  it  to  local  unions  in  circular  form."  ^^  This  plan 
still  obtains,  except  that  it  takes  twelve  unions  to  carry  an 
appeal  over  the  heads  of  the  executive  board  and  not  more 
than  five  of  these  unions  can  belong  to  the  same  conference 
board.  In  practice  the  executive  board  occasionally  acts 
on  its  own  account  in  amending  a  proposed  amendment, 
and  it  has  even  oflFered  amendments  upon  its  own  initiative. 
Prior  to  1895  there  were  very  few  instances  where  con- 

°  Proceedings,  1861,  pp.  17,  29. 
"  Ibid.,  1868,  p.  72. 

11  Constitution,   1888,  art.   16,  sec.   I. 

12  Ibid.,  1895,  art-  IS,  sec.   i. 


32  THE  INTERNATIONAL  HOLDERS  UNION  [42O 

stitutional  amendments  were  initiated  by  local  unions  for 
admission  to  popular  vote,  but  since  that  date  numerous 
amendments  have  been  submitted. 

In  1879  it  became  necessary  for  the  executive  board  to 
call  an  extraordinary  session  of  the  union  to  hear  charges 
against  President  Saffin,  In  the  absence  of  a  constitutional 
provision  the  board  canvassed  the  local  unions  and  secured 
their  consent  to  a  proposal  for  a  special  convention.  To 
provide  against  future  contingencies  a  rule  was  passed  that 
"should  it  become  necessary  to  hold  a  special  convention, 
in  order  to  be  legal,  it  must  have  the  sanction  of  the  ma- 
jority of  the  executive  board  and  two  thirds  of  the  local 
unions  voting  on  the  same."  ^^  In  1895  a  popular  vote  was 
substituted  for  a  local-union  vote,  and  in  1902  it  was  pro- 
vided that  a  request  for  a  special  convention  must  be  in- 
itiated by  at  least  five  local  unions.  No  special  conven- 
tion, it  may  be  said,  has  been  authorized  since  1879.  The 
referendum  has  also  been  introduced  to  uphold  or  to  reject 
the  findings  of  the  executive  board  after  a  trial  of  charges 
against  international  officers.  Until  1897  the  vote  on  such 
questions  was  by  local  unions  and  each  union  had  as  many 
votes  as  it  was  entitled  to  in  convention. 

Finally,  the  convention  at  odd  times  has  put  to  referen- 
dum questions  of  major  importance  upon  which  the  vote 
of  the  membership  has  been  desired.  For  example,  pro- 
posals for  an  eight-hour  day  and  for  the  abolition  of  piece- 
work have  been  thus  submitted.  From  the  foregoing  ac- 
count it  will  be  observed  that  the  Holders  have  pursued 
varied  methods  of  voting  under  the  referendum  rules.  In 
1897  procedure  was  simplified  by  the  requirement  that  all 
measures  submitted  to  the  membership  must  be  decided  by 
popular  vote. 

Since  1879  certain  members  of  the  union  have  advocated 
the  complete  substitution  of  the  initiative  and  referendum 
for  the  convention  system.  The  convention  has  been  con- 
demned as  too  costly  and  as  lacking  in  the  fundamental 

13  Ibid.,  1879,  art.  15,  sec.  4. 


42 1  ]  GOVERNMENT  33 

elements  of  democracy.  The  defenders  of  the  convention, 
however,  have  always  outnumbered  its  antagonists.  They 
have  pointed  to  the  small  vote  obtained  on  issues  sub- 
mitted to  a  referendum  as  an  indication  of  a  tendency  to 
let  things  "  be  decided  by  default,  as  it  were,"  owing  to  the 
general  idea  of  depending  too  much  upon  "  the  judgment 
or  volition  of  international  officers."  ^*  When  a  vote  was 
taken  on  the  advisability  of  holding  a  convention  in  1897 
there  appeared  "  the  discouraging  spectacle  of  less  than 
one  third  of  the  entire  membership  recording  themselves  as 
either  in  favor  of  or  against,  and  28  local  unions  out  of  231 
vouchsafing  no  expression  whatever."  ^^  Again,  when 
local  union  No.  31  of  Detroit  submitted  various  amend- 
ments to  the  constitution  on  one  occasion,  it  took  the  trouble 
to  send  texts  of  the  proposals  to  each  member  of  the  entire 
union,  but  even  then  only  one  third  of  the  voting  strength 
was  called  out.  In  view  of  these  facts,  it  has  been  con- 
tended that  the  referendum  enables  a  minority  to  make 
decisions  and  that  "  indifference  on  the  part  of  those  pos- 
sessing the  franchise  seems  to  be  one  of  the  greatest  weak- 
nesses of  the  system."  ^^ 

Attention  has  also  been  called  to  the  need  of  the  conven- 
tion as  a  "  safety  valve  "  for  the  union.  A  widely  scattered 
membership,  representing  different  interests,  has  required 
"  that  before  intelligent  action  can  be  taken  upon  any  prob- 
lem aft'ecting  the  organization,  all  the  information  which 
can  be  secured  upon  the  subject  must  be  presented,  .  .  . 
supplemented  by  the  advice  and  suggestions  of  those  mem- 
bers who  have  made  a  special  study  of  the  question  .  .  . 
or  who,  as  officers,  have  had  to  contend  with  it."^'^  Op- 
portunity for  such  presentation,  it  has  been  urged,  has  ex- 
isted only  at  the  convention  where  clashing  opinions  can  be 

1*  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  December,  1899,  p.  641. 

15  Ibid.,  April,  1897,  p.  172. 

18  Perhaps  the  most  notable  vote  was  polled  in  1900  when  13,163 
members  expressed  their  views  on  the  adoption  of  an  eight-hour 
day. 

1^  International  Molders'  Journal,  November,  1914,  p.  899. 

3 


34  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [422 

harmonized,  friction  allayed  and  "  narrow  provincialism  re- 
moved." The  convention  has  also  been  defended  as  the  sole 
device  for  obtaining  a  systematic  revision  of  the  constitu- 
tion and  as  the  one  place  where  important  reforms,  such  as 
the  high-dues  plan  of  1895,  can  be  secured. 

Summing  up  the  Molders'  policy  respecting  the  initiative 
and  referendum,  we  may  say  that  they  have  perfected  an 
"  effective  balance  "  between  these  instruments  and  the  rep- 
resentative assembly.  The  latter  handles  the  majority  of 
alterations  found  necessary  in  the  rules  of  the  organization 
and  systematizes  its  laws.  Yet  the  "  ultimate  decision  on 
any  question  "  rests  in  the  hands  of  the  entire  membership. 
Direct  legislation  enables  the  union  to  correct  from  time  to 
time  any  error  the  convention  may  commit  or  to  fill  in  gaps 
that  may  be  overlooked.  "  In  any  crisis  or  whenever  a 
majority  believes  that  a  change  should  take  place"  the 
membership  may  work  its  will.  The  decisions  of  the  execu- 
tive board  upon  amendments  and  charges  may  be  over- 
turned and  special  conventions  may  be  called  if  the  organi- 
zation so  desires.^® 

Since  1868  it  has  frequently  been  proposed  that  the  in- 
ternational officers  be  nominated  by  local  unions  and  elected 
by  the  entire  membership.  In  19 12,  especially,  the  question 
was  much  debated.  Those  who  have  favored  the  direct 
nomination  and  election  of  the  general  officers  formerly 
argued  about  the  possibilities  afforded  thereby  to  avoid  "  that 
horrible  monster,  '  ring  rule,' "  ^^  claiming  that  it  was  com- 
paratively easy  for  the  officers  to  influence  conventions  in 
favor  of  their  reelection  by  playing  politics.  At  present 
one  hears  more  about  the  fundamental  democracy  involved 
in  giving  every  member  a  vote  in  choosing  his  leaders.  It 
may  be  questioned,  however,  whether  political  theory  has 
been  entirely  divorced  from  practical  politics  by  those  who 
have  taken  their  stand  for  direct  elections.  The  "  outs  " 
have  doubtless  seen  some  chance  for  overcoming  the  "  ins  " 

"  Ibid. 

18  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  September,  1896,  p.  376. 


423]  GOVERNMENT  35 

by  such  a  system.  The  sentiment  of  the  majority  of  the 
members  has  always  been  opposed  to  the  popular  nomina- 
tion and  election  of  officers.  The  arguments  against  direct 
elections  and  in  favor  of  the  convention  system  were  well 
stated  by  Editor  Frey  in  1913.  Mr.  Frey  upheld  the  elec- 
tion of  officers  through  the  convention  because  it  allowed 
leaders  to  prove  their  worth  before  a  body  of  competent 
critics,  because  it  decreased  rather  than  increased  personal 
politics,  because  direct  elections  would  involve  great  ex- 
pense, whenever  a  multiplicity  of  candidates  should  require 
several  ballots  to  be  taken,  and  because  experience  with 
direct  elections  had  demonstrated  the  fact  that  only  a 
minority  of  the  members  voted.^" 

No  comment  has  been  made  in  this  chapter  upon  the  use 
of  the  referendum  in  the  authorization  of  strikes.  This 
question  has  been  treated  in  another  connection.^^ 

District  Unions. — As  early  as  1863  it  was  proposed  that 
the  Molders  form  state  or  district  unions,  subordinate  to 
the  international  union.  It  was  argued  that  such  organiza- 
tions could  reduce  expenses  by  handling  all  local  matters, 
thereby  leaving  the  general  convention  and  officers  free  to 
give  all  their  time  to  general  problems.  During  the  early 
'8o's,  especially,  there  was  a  growing  feeling  that  the  union 
was  organized  on  incorrect  principles  and  that  the  exercise 
of  more  local  autonomy  was  desirable.  Finally,  in  1886, 
the  convention  decided  to  experiment  with  the  district  sys- 
tem and  a  form  of  organization  was  created  after  the  pat- 
tern of  the  government  of  the  United  States  with  its  federal, 
state  and  local  units.  District  unions  with  the  necessary 
officers  were  authorized  in  each  state  and  Canadian  province 
having  three  or  more  local  unions.  They  were  given  power 
to  elect  most  of  the  delegates  to  the  general  convention,  to 
supervise  and  control  local  unions  within  their  district,  to 

20  International  Molders'  Journal,  August,  1913,  p.  666.  Confer- 
ence boards  have  sometimes  chosen  business  agents  by  popular 
nomination  and  election.  At  one  election  held  by  the  Pittsburgh 
board  only  507  ballots  were  cast  out  of  a  total  membership  of 
2,646. 

21-  See  pp.  101-105. 


36  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [424 

arbitrate  trade  disputes,  to  send  out  district  organizers,  to 
raise  funds  in  any  way  not  in  conflict  with  the  rules  of  the 
International,  and  to  initiate  molders  located  in  isolated 
places  and  to  attach  them  to  the  nearest  local  unions. ^^  In 
eight  States  and  in  some  of  the  Canadian  provinces  district 
organizations  were  perfected.  So  far  as  accomplishments 
were  concerned,  they  did  little  more  than  to  elect  officers, 
to  endorse  the  union  label  and  to  elect  statisticians  to  collect 
information  about  wages  and  prices.  The  uselessness  of 
the  district  unions,  coupled  with  a  reaction  in  favor  of 
centralized  authority,  led  to  their  overthrow  in  1888  by  a 
referendum  vote.^^ 

Conference  Boards. — District  or  state  unions  failed  be- 
cause they  were  not  adjusted  to  economic  need.  State 
lines  did  not  coincide  with  trade  boundaries.  A  correct  basis 
of  organization  for  bodies  intermediary  between  the  interna- 
tional and  the  local  unions  was  finally  found  in  conference 
boards  composed  of  local  unions  situated  in  the  same  indus- 
trial area. 

The  first  conference  board  was  formed  in  New  York 
City  and  vicinity  in  January,  1891.  During  the  eighties  the 
Knights  of  Labor  were  so  active  in  that  locality  as  to 
weaken  the  trade  unions.  As  a  result,  several  foundry- 
men  made  an  efifort  to  increase  hours  and  reduce  wages. 
"  It  was  this  condition  of  affairs  that  paved  the  way  for 
and  brought  about  the  organization  of  the  conference  board, 
so  that  the  representatives  of  the  strong  locals  could  meet 
with  those  of  the  weaker  ones,  ascertain  their  conditions, 
needs,  etc.,  discuss  the  situation  and  render  them  assistance 
whenever  and  wherever  possible."-*  In  1892  four  local 
unions  in  the  Chicago  district  formed  a  council  "  to  bring 
about  a  more  harmonious  feeling  between  the  members  and 
the  different  branches,  stove,  machinery,  and  bench,"     A 

22  Proceedings,  1886,  pp.  45,  49,  57. 

23  Proposals  for  "  home  rule "  and  for  "  districting  the  Inter- 
national Union "  were  unsuccessfully  made  on  several  occasions 
after  1888. 

24  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  January,  1897,  p.  6. 


425]  GOVERNMENT  37 

headquarters  was  established  with  a  paid  secretary  in 
charge  whose  chief  duty  it  was  to  maintain  an  employ- 
ment bureau  for  union  members,^^  Three  unions  in  Day- 
ton, Ohio,  formed  a  council  in  1894  in  order  to  keep  in 
closer  touch  with  each  other. 

Official  international  recognition  was  granted  in  1895  to 
"  local  executive  boards "  which  were  authorized  in  each 
locality  where  more  than  one  union  existed,  for  the  purpose 
of  adjusting  all  differences  between  the  unions  and  of 
agreeing  upon  a  scale  of  wages.  In  1899  rules  were 
adopted  for  the  formation  and  regulation  of  conference 
boards.  Whenever  the  members  of  local  unions  "  within  a 
reasonable  radius  of  a  good  central  point,  with  a  total 
membership  of  1,000  or  more,"  decided  to  form  a  board, 
it  was  to  be  officially  recognized  by  the  International  Union. 
All  by-laws  of  conference  boards  were  to  be  approved  by 
the  international  president,  whose  sanction  was  also  re- 
quired to  confirm  the  appointment  of  any  business  agent  or 
employee.^^ 

Local  autonomy  prevailed  at  first  with  respect  to  the 
organization,  membership  and  jurisdiction  of  the  boards, 
but  before  long  it  seemed  wise  to  establish  international 
control  over  all  features  of  their  organization.  In  1907 
all  local  unions  were  compelled  to  join  the  conference  board 
of  their  district,  if  one  existed.  The  executive  board  was 
empowered  to  establish  conference  boards  wherever  it  saw 
fit,  to  decide  how  large  the  combined  membership  of  several 
local  unions  should  be  in  order  to  justify  their  organization 
under  a  conference  plan,  and  to  determine  the  territorial 
jurisdiction  of  each  conference  board.  In  1912  two  more 
important  checks  upon  conference  boards  were  imposed 
when  the  president  and  executive  board  were  authorized 
to  remove  business  agents  for  inefficiency  and  to  revoke  the 
charters  of  conference  boards  which  failed  to  be  self-sus- 
taining. 

25  Ibid.,  August,  1892,  p.  5. 

26  Proceedings,  1899,  p.  187. 


38  THE  INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [^426 

Only  five  or  six  boards  were  organized  prior  to  1900.  In 
1902  there  were  fourteen  boards,  in  1907  sixteen,  in  1912 
eighteen,  and  in  1918  eighteen.  Increases  in  the  number 
of  boards  since  1907  have  been  chiefly  due  to  spHtting  up 
organizations  so  large  as  to  be  unwieldy.  Thus,  in  1913 
it  was  decided  that  better  results  could  be  obtained  by  di- 
viding New  England  into  the  three  districts  of  Boston  and 
vicinity,  the  Connecticut  Valley,  and  Eastern  New  Eng- 
land. The  remaining  fifteen  boards  are  known  as  those  of 
New  York,  Buffalo,  Central  New  York,  Pittsburgh,  East- 
ern Pennsylvania,  Chicago,  Detroit,  Lower  Michigan,  St. 
Louis,  Central  Ohio,  Cleveland,  the  Miami  Valley,  Indiana, 
Northern  California,  and  Ontario.  Boards  for  the  South 
have  frequently  been  suggested,  but  so  far  conditions  have 
not  been  ripe  for  their  establishment.  In  two  or  three 
cases  boards  have  been  discontinued  because  they  have 
not  been  self-sustaining.  In  1917  the  number  of  unions 
constituting  the  board  ranged  from  two  in  Northern  Cali- 
fornia to  twenty-seven  in  Central  New  York  and  Eastern 
Pennsylvania.  The  membership  varied  from  1,187  for 
Northern  California  to  3,857  for  New  York.  The  eighteen 
boards  had  a  total  membership  of  40,658. 

Conference  boards  have  primarily  had  the  duty  of  or- 
ganizing molders  and  securing  harmony  of  action  among 
the  affiliated  local  unions.  They  have  not  had  power  to 
initiate  or  settle  strikes  or  to  modify  any  national  policy. 
The  work  of  organizing  has  been  largely  carried  on  by  busi- 
ness agents,  hired  and  paid  by  the  boards.  Besides  acting 
as  an  organizer  the  business  agent  serves  as  a  sort  of 
employment-bureau  manager  and  assists  in  the  settlement 
of  grievances  and  the  conduct  of  strikes.  He  is  often 
given  authority  to  examine  the  books  of  officers  of  affiliated 
local  unions  and  generally  he  is  required  to  visit  local 
unions  in  his  jurisdiction  at  stated  intervals.  Suspended 
members  may  pay  their  debts  to  him  and  be  reinstated. 
For  all  his  actions  he  is  immediately  responsible  to  the 
board's  executive  committee  which  controls  his  activities. 
The  committee  usually  grants  him  considerable  latitude. 


427]  GOVERNMENT  39 

The  Local  Union. — Local  union  procedure  has  been  com- 
pared to  government  by  mass  meeting.  Like  all  other 
attempts  at  a  pure  democracy,  however,  the  local  union  has 
found  it  necessary  to  delegate  certain  powers  to  its  officers 
and  committees.  Little  change  has  been  made  in  the  num- 
ber and  duties  of  officers  in  molders'  local  unions  since  the 
early  years.  The  first  organizations  each  had  a  president, 
a  vice-president,  a  recording  secretary,  a  financial  sec- 
retary, and  a  treasurer.  It  is  unnecessary  to  define  the 
duties  of  these  officers.  When  the  International  Union 
was  formed,  the  local  office  of  corresponding  representative 
was  created  to  handle  all  communications  with  the  central 
office  and  with  other  bodies,  and  to  make  monthly  reports 
to  the  international  president  on  all  important  facts  relative 
to  changes  in  membership,  the  condition  of  employment, 
moneys  collected,  etc.  At  present  it  is  customary  for  local 
unions  to  have,  besides  the  officers  mentioned,  a  statistician 
and  three  or  five  trustees.  The  statistician  is  supposed  to 
secure  statistics  upon  all  facts  of  interest  to  the  trade 
from  all  open,  union,  and  non-union  shops  under  the  juris- 
diction of  his  union.  He  is  assisted  in  his  duties  by  one 
member  appointed  from  each  shop.  The  trustees  exercise 
general  supervision  over  the  property  of  the  union,  invest 
its  surplus  funds,  examine  all  bills  presented  for  payment, 
hold  officers'  bonds,  audit  accounts  and  perform  similar 
duties.  A  few  local  unions  have  also  employed  business 
agents  at  different  times.^^  For  inefficiency  or  neglect  of 
duty  local  officers  can  be  removed  by  the  international 
president  with  the  consent  of  the  executive  board. 

Local  unions  have  but  few  standing  committees.  In 
one  sense  the  shop  or  price  committees  are  local-union  com- 
mittees, yet  their  work  is  related  primarily  to  their  respective 
foundries.     Special   committees,    such   as   those   appointed 

27  In  1907  there  were  eight  local-union  business  agents.  The 
tendency  has  been  to  substitute  conference-board  agents  for  local 
agents.  It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  the  Albany  union  in  i860 
urged  the  appointment  of  "  agents "  to  organize  the  trade  and  to 
secure  the  amicable  settlement  of  disputes. 


40  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [428 

to  visit  sick  members,  are  named  from  time  to  time.  Since 
1863  local  unions  have  been  chartered  by  the  International 
Union,  All  local  by-laws  "  and  all  amendments  thereto, 
except  such  as  relate  to  time  and  place  of  meeting,"  must 
be  submitted  to  the  general  president  before  being  printed, 
"  for  examination,  correction,  and  approval. "^^  For  many 
years  uniform  by-laws  have  been  suggested,  but  it  has  seemed 
best  to  allow  some  leeway  to  meet  local  conditions. 

The  Shop. — Some  form  of  shop  organization  has  always 
obtained  among  the  Molders.  In  1855  the  Philadelphia 
union  provided  that  the  members  in  each  foundry  should 
select  from  their  number  three  journeymen  to  serve  as 
"  an  executive  committee  of  the  foundry."  The  committee 
was  ordered  "to  prepare  and  keep  a  list  of  articles  that 
are  made  by  the  piece  and  give  their  opinion  as  to  the  price 
that  should  be  paid."  ^^  Shop  members  were  also  required 
to  elect  one  representative  on  a  "  financial  committee "  of 
the  local  union.  It  became  the  duty  of  this  man  to  collect 
extra  assessments,  to  invite  non-members  to  join  the  union 
and  to  do  such  other  work  as  might  be  required  of  him. 
Similar  committees  existed  in  the  Buffalo  union  in  1859. 
"  Price,"  "  finance,"  or  "  shop  committees  "  have  been  usual 
in  every  important  union  foundry  to  the  present.  At 
present  they  exercise  a  general  supervision  over  members 
in  the  shop,  report  all  violations  of  the  rules,  and  all  other 
matters  of  interest  to  the  union.  Sometimes  they  act  as 
price  committees  and  inspect  union  cards.  In  many  shops, 
however,  a  special  "  collector "  or  "  steward "  attends  to 
the  collection  of  all  dues,  fines  and  assessments.  Each 
shop  elects  its  own  committee  or  collector.  The  shop  com- 
mittee usually  consists  of  three  men,  but  in  some  cases  it 
is  composed  of  only  one  member,  called  "  the  chairman  of 
the  shop." 

28  Constitution,  1867,  art.  10,  sec.  3. 

29  Journeymen  Stove  and  Hollow-ware  Moulders'  Union  of  Phila- 
delphia, Constitution  and  By-Laws,  1855,  art.  3,  sec.  3;  art.  4, 
sec.  6. 


CHAPTER  IV 

Jurisdiction 

Territorial  Jurisdiction. — The  Molders  have  always 
claimed  jurisdiction  over  the  entire  United  States  and  on 
several  occasions  they  have  had  to  fight  sectional  move- 
ments. During  the  sixties  a  scheme  for  dividing  the  organ- 
ization into  two  "  separate  and  distinct  branches,  the  East 
and  the  West,"  interested  a  small  element  of  the  member- 
ship which  claimed  to  dislike  "  foreign  interference."  The 
dangers  of  the  proposal  were  soon  seen  and  its  backers 
were  so  sternly  rebuked  that  the  matter  was  dropped.^  In 
1884  plans  to  set  up  four  separate  unions  in  the  United 
States  met  with  a  like  fate.  In  each  instance  sectional 
jealousy  was  the  cause  of  the  suggested  division. 

In  i860  Canadian  local  unions  in  Montreal,  Quebec,  To- 
ronto, Brantford  and  London  were  affiliated.  By  this  action 
the  Molders  became  an  international  union,  the  first  of  its 
kind  in  the  entire  world.  Since  i860  the  union  has  claimed 
complete  jurisdiction  over  Canada,  where,  at  the  present 
time,  there  are  thirty-one  local  unions.  In  1884  it  was  pro- 
posed that  the  Canadian  locals  secede  and  form  a  national 
union  of  their  own  in  order,  as  it  was  said,  to  have  their 
affairs  looked  after  more  effectively.  This  movement  was 
stopped  almost  before  it  was  started,  so  little  good  did  the 
Canadian  molders  see  in  it.  At  present  there  is  a  small 
group  of  Canadian  workers  who  favor  national  autonomy, 
but  no  molders  are  known  to  belong  to  it.  In  1888  appli- 
cation for  a  charter  was  received  from  Mexico  City  where 
a  number  of  union  molders  were  working.  The  petition 
was  denied.  The  hostility  of  the  government  to  trade  union- 
ism during  the  Diaz  regime  and  the  turbulent  time^   of 

1  International  Journal,  May,  1874,  p.  327. 

41 


42  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS   UNION  [43O 

later  days  have  continued  to  make  the  invasion  of  Mexico 
unprofitable.  Most  of  the  members  working  in  that  country 
now  deposit  their  cards  at  Douglas,  Arizona.  In  1900 
union  molders  working  in  Honolulu  requested  that  a  charter 
be  given  them.  The  executive  board  felt  at  first  that  it 
would  be  too  expensive  to  administer  so  remote  a  local 
union,  but  in  1901  it  finally  granted  the  petition.  One  year 
later  the  charter  was  withdrawn  because  the  anticipated 
difficulties  proved  too  formidable.  The  Molders  still  re- 
tain jurisdiction  over  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  but  members 
working  there  deposit  their  cards  at  San  Francisco.  To 
aid  its  members  in  dealing  more  effectively  with  govern- 
ment officials  in  the  Canal  Zone,  the  union  granted  a  charter 
in  1906  to  Gorgona  (renamed  Balboa)  where  the  chief  con- 
struction and  repair  shops  along  the  Canal  were  located. 
The  Molders  have  never  given  favorable  consideration  to 
applications  for  charters  in  Alaska,  Newfoundland,  Cuba, 
Porto  Rico  or  the  Philippine  Islands  since  the  cost  of  ad- 
ministration would  be  out  of  proportion  to  the  benefits  de- 
rived by  the  small  number  of  members  obtainable  in  these 
places. 

The  first  rule  which  dealt  with  the  jurisdiction  of  local 
unions  read  as  follows : 

Should  the  molders  of  any  city  deem  it  expedient  to  form  unions 
of  the  separate  branches  of  the  trade,  such  unions  will  be  recognized 
and  respected  by  the  National  Union,  Provided,  that  no  more 
than  one  union  in  each  department,  viz.,  one  union  of  Machinery 
Molders,  and  one  union  of  Stove  and  Hollow  Ware  Molders, 
shall  be  recognized  in  any  one  city  or  town.^ 

Within  a  few  years  separate  unions  of  bench  molders 
were  also  authorized.  In  1887  hollowware  molders  were 
allowed  to  form  separate  local  unions,  but  as  they  did  not 
take  advantage  of  the  privilege  the  action  was  rescinded  in 
1888.  In  the  same  year,  however,  brass  molders  were  al- 
lowed separate  local  unions.  In  1899  a  general  rule  speci- 
fying that  the  approval  of  the  president  and  executive  board 

2  Proceedings,  1859,  p.  12. 


43 1  ]  JURISDICTION  43 

must  be  obtained  before  more  than  one  union  could  be  es- 
tablished in  a  locality  was  adopted.  Machine  operators, 
brass  molders,  agricultural  molders,  malleable-iron  molders 
and  heater-work  molders  were  given  charters  wherever  the 
conditions  justified.  A  few  specialized  workers,  such  as 
radiator  molders,  have  not  been  granted  separate  charters. 
After  the  amalgamation  with  the  Core  Makers  in  1903  it 
was  thought  best  by  the  executive  board  to  merge  the  newly 
acquired  coremakers'  unions  with  the  machinery-molders' 
unions,  since  in  practically  all  matters  taken  up  with  em- 
ployers the  two  groups  had  to  act  jointly.  At  present  all 
but  five  out  of  the  nineteen  original  coremakers'  unions 
have  surrendered  their  charters.  Since  1912  the  president 
and  executive  board  have  been  authorized  to  combine  local 
unions  where  it  seems  expedient  to  do  so.  In  general,  it  is 
the  policy  of  the  Molders  to  have  as  few  unions  as  possible 
in  any  one  locality  in  order  to  secure  maximum  solidarity 
and  efficiency. 

Since  1 861  the  molding  trade  has  been  entered  by  a  con- 
siderable number  of  German,  Bohemian,  Polish  and  Hun- 
garian immigrants.  Because  many  of  these  foreigners  could 
not  speak  English,  it  was  deemed  wise  at  one  time  to  form 
them  into  local  unions  of  their  own,  regardless  of  the 
branches  of  the  trade  represented.  The  first  hint  of  such 
a  policy  appeared  in  1888  when  it  was  proposed,  unsuccess- 
fully, to  give  the  president  power  "to  organize  a  German 
union  where  there  are  Germans  enough  to  support  it."  ^  In 
1894  a  local  union  of  Poles  was  formed  at  Cleveland  and 
in  1900  a  union  composed  exclusively  of  Bohemians  was 
chartered  there.  After  a  brief  trial  the  union  merged  these 
two  local  unions  with  other  Cleveland  unions  and  decided 
to  grant  no  more  charters  on  the  basis  of  nationality,  since 
it  had  been  discovered  that  unity  in  shop  control  and 
"  Americanization  "  could  only  be  secured  by  placing  for- 
eigners in  the  same  local  unions  with  other  employees  from 
the  same  establishments. 

3  Ibid.,  1888,  p.  74. 


44  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [432 

In  the  early  days  local  unions  were  restricted  in  their 
territorial  jurisdiction  to  a  single  city  or  town.  At  present, 
however,  extensive  jurisdictions  covering  entire  Canadian 
provinces  and  large  parts  of  American  States  are  possessed 
by  four  or  five  unions.  For  example,  the  Winnipeg  union 
has  jurisdiction  over  all  foundry  centers  in  Manitoba  and 
Saskatchewan,  the  Way  cross,  Georgia,  union  has  jurisdic- 
tion over  Southern  Georgia  and  Florida,  and  the  San  Fran- 
cisco union  has  jurisdiction  over  the  Golden  Gate  territory, 
Honolulu,  mining  camps  as  far  east  as  Nevada,  and  all  Cal- 
ifornia except  San  Diego,  Los  Angeles  and  Sacramento.  It 
as  quite  common  today  for  a  local  union  to  have  jurisdiction 
over  all  towns  in  a  single  county. 

Trade  Jurisdiction. — The  convention  of  1859  was  called 
by  local  organizations  composed  entirely  of  molders  of  grey 
iron  from  the  machinery  and  the  stove  and  hoUowware 
branches  of  the  trade.^  As  the  molding  trade  expanded, 
the  union  began  tO'  extend  its  jurisdiction  so  that  in  time 
it  became  a  molders'  organization  in  the  fullest  sense.  The 
first  extension  of  trade  jurisdiction  took  place  in  1865  when 
bench  molders  and  malleable-iron  molders  were  made  eli- 
gible for  membership.  Two  years  later  brass  molders  were 
included.  No  further  additions  to  trade  jurisdiction  were 
made  until  1899,  when  it  was  resolved  that  the  union  should 
"seek  to  establish  .  .  .  jurisdiction  over  the  molding-ma- 
chine operator  and  all  those  who  work  at  molding  in  the 
numerous  subdivisions  "  into  which  the  specialization  of  the 
trade  had  divided  it.^  In  1902  the  jurisdiction  of  the  union 
was  comprehensively  defined  by  the  statement  that  it  should 
extend  "over  the  trade  of  molding  in  all  its  branches  and 
subdivisions,  including  coremaking."  ® 

Strict  trade  autonomy  has  always  appealed  to  a  majority 
of  the  membership,  yet  agitation  for  an  industrial  form  of 

*  All  but  one  of  the  fourteen  unions  represented  were  organiza- 
tions of  "  stove-platers." 

0  Constitution,  1899,  Standing  Resolution  No.  38,  p.  55.  In 
1902  special  mention  was  made  of  the  radiator  molder. 

'  Ibid.,  1902,  art.  i,  sec.  2. 


433]  JURISDICTION  45 

organization  has  been  in  evidence  since  1880,  when  it  was 
advocated  that  the  union  should  bring  under  its  control 
"  every  skilled  worker  in  and  around  the  foundry."  ^  It 
was  argued  that  in  the  stove  industry  strikes  often  failed 
because  molders  were  not  supported  by  pattern  makers, 
mounters,  and  melters.  In  the  machinery  branch  the  mold- 
ers, it  was  claimed,  needed  the  direct  aid  of  allied  trades, 
such  as  the  machinists,  blacksmiths,  pattern  makers,  and 
boilermakers.  By  1912  the  friends  of  a  metal-trades'  amal- 
gamation had  become  so  numerous  that  ten  resolutions  in 
all  were  offered  in  the  convention  of  that  year  for  some  form 
of  consolidation.  All  of  the  resolutions,  after  long  discus- 
sion, failed  of  adoption,  although  thirty-two  delegates  voted 
in  favor  of  a  referendum  on  the  issue  of  admitting  all 
workers  "  in  and  around  foundries."  ®  Again,  in  1915, 
a  referendum  vote  was  taken  on  the  general  issue  of  "  amal- 
gamation." The  executive  board  vigorously  expressed  it- 
self in  favor  of  maintaining  the  independent  existence  of 
the  union  and  the  membership  defeated  the  proposed  meas- 
ure by  an  overwhelming  majority.  The  measure  failed  to 
carry  chiefly  because  the  members  felt  that  a  strong  union 
could  gain  nothing  by  fusion  with  weaker  ones.° 

Jurisdiction  Disputes. — The  Molders  have  had  their  share 
of  jurisdiction  disputes  and  secessions.  Unlike  many  other 
organizations  they  have  emerged  successfully  from  each 
conflict.     The  history  of  the  chief  disputes  follows : 

(i)  The  Knights  of  Labor.  From  1882  to  1885  many 
molders  joined  local  assemblies  of  the  Order  of  the  Knights 
of  Labor.  In  1882  some  machinery  molders  in  Pittsburgh, 
who  refused  to  join  the  union,  organized  under  the  Knights. 
In  1883  prominent  members  of  local  union  No.  8  of  Al- 
bany secretly  organized  Holders'  Local  Assembly  No.  2791. 
The  Knights  were  so  powerful  throughout  the  country  that 

7  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  June,  1880,  p.  10. 

8  Proceedings,  1912,  pp.  126,  137,  141,  148,  155,  159,  167,  169, 
175,   181,  209,  234,  244. 

8  For  further  discussion  of  the  inter-union  relations  of  the  Mold- 
ers see  pp.  108-113. 


46  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [434 

the  Albany  men,  whose  local  union  was  none  too  strong, 
believed  affiliation  with  them  to  be  expedient.  A  local  as- 
sembly of  the  Knights  formed  at  Worcester,  Massachusetts, 
in  1885,  was  joined  by  several  molders,  as  the  local  union 
there  had  ceased  to  exist.  Indianapolis  machinery  molders 
in  1885  temporarily  took  out  a  charter  in  the  Order.  Many 
individual  molders  belonged  to  the  Knights  and  some  of 
these  held  cards  in  the  union  as  well. 

The  general  attitude  of  the  union  toward  the  Order,  down 
to  the  middle  of  1886,  was  well  stated  by  the  editor  of  the 
Iron  Molders*^  Journal  in  that  year  when  he  said:  "The 
Knights  of  Labor  is  an  organization  which  was  started  for 
the  purpose  of  organizing  all  branches  of  unorganized  labor, 
and  we  have  on  all  occasions  given  them  all  the  support 
in  our  power."  ^"  In  the  early  part  of  1886,  however, 
trouble  arose.  The  Knights  were  accused  of  admitting  to 
membership  expelled  and  suspended  union  molders,  and 
were  warned  that  the  union  would  not  tolerate  such  a  pol- 
icy, since  it  threatened  discipline  and  made  scabbing  easy. 
In  reply  to  the  complaints  made  by  the  Molders  and  by 
other  trade  unions,  the  leader  of  the  Knights  asserted  that 
personally  he  had  "  always  held  that  the  man  who  proved 
untrue  to  his  Trade  Union  was  unfit  for  membership  in  the 
Knights  "  and  that  he  believed  the  majority  of  his  member- 
ship felt  likewise.^^  In  spite  of  this  statement,  however, 
"unfair"  molders  continued  to  join  the  Order. 

Although  the  Molders  took  issue  with  the  membership 
policy  of  the  Knights,  there  was  still  a  considerable  element 
in  the  union  which  believed  that  a  break  with  the  Order 
would  be  fatal  to  the  labor  movement.  Some  members 
urged  amalgamation  with  the  Knights  as  the  best  way  out 
of  the  difficulty.  They  believed,  moreover,  that  the  all-in- 
clusive unionism  represented  by  the  latter  was  the  ideal 
form  of  organization.  A  resolution  for  amalgamation  was 
introduced  in  the  1886  convention.     After  lonsr  debate  it 


10  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  February,  1886,  p    14. 
"  Ibid.,  April,   1886,  p.  5. 


435]  JURISDICTION  47 

was  overwhelmingly  defeated  by  a  vote  of  114  to  27  as 
"  inexpedient,  unwise  and  unnecessary.'*  Another  resolu- 
tion giving  the  president  and  executive  board  power  to  issue 
a  circular  for  a  popular  vote  upon  the  question  was  also 
defeated.^^ 

On  May  17,  1886,  a  conference  of  thirty-two  national 
union  officers,  including  President  Fitzpatrick  of  the  Hold- 
ers, framed  several  charges  against  the  Knights,  such  as 
aiding  unfair  employers,  scabbing,  and  ignoring  union  scales 
and  hours.  An  agreement  was  prepared  for  submission  to 
the  Knights,  according  to  which  the  latter  were  to  discipline 
any  member  or  local  organization  guilty  of  unfair  prac- 
tices. While  the  Knights  received  the  agreement  in  a  "  spirit 
of  friendship,"  they  did  not  put  it  into  effect.  Eventually 
they  began  to  fight  the  unions,  especially  the  Cigar  Makers, 
quite  openly.  At  the  1886  convention  the  executive  board 
was  instructed  to  demand  of  the  Knights  that  they  suspend 
all  members  who  were  suspended  or  expelled  unionists,  and 
it  was  ordered  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  act  with  a 
committee  from  the  Knights  to  consider  disputes  that  might 
arise  in  the  future.  The  Knights,  however,  remained  un- 
moved by  the  adoption  of  these  resolutions. 

In  the  following  year  the  situation  gradually  became 
worse.  In  various  parts  of  the  country  relations  became 
more  and  more  strained  over  questions  of  various  kinds. 
At  New  Haven  six  members  of  the  Knights  were  discharged 
from  a  foundry,  whereupon  the  local  assembly  called  a 
strike  and  declared  the  shop  closed  to  organized  labor. 
Since  the  strike  had  not  been  authorized  by  the  executive 
board,  several  union  molders  in  the  shop  returned  to  work 
before  the  difficulty  was  settled.  At  once  they  were  branded 
as  scabs  by  the  local  assembly.  At  Albany  friction  arose 
in  1887  when  the  Knights  deprived  the  union  of  control  over 
the  Rathbone  stove  shop.  The  Bridge  and  Beach  lockout 
at  St.  Louis  in  1887  was  another  cause  for  trouble  between 

12  Proceedings,  1886,  pp.  17-20,  33. 


48  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [^436 

the  two  organizations.  During  this  dispute  members  of  the 
Knights  continued  to  use  St.  Louis  patterns  while  all  over 
the  country  union  molders  refused  to  handle  them.  As  the 
result  of  their  experiences  with  the  Knights  throughout  the 
country,  the  Molders  felt  that  they  had  many  just  grievances 
against  them  and  that  the  only  safe  thing  to  do  was  to 
drive  the  Knights  entirely  out  of  the  foundry.  By  combin- 
ing with  other  trade  unions  the  Molders  were  able  to  achieve 
this  end  practically  by  1890.  After  that  date  the  Knights 
continued  to  retain  a  few  molders  in  their  membership  but 
so  few  as  to  cause  no  serious  clashes  with  the  union. 

(2)  The  Brotherhood  of  Machinery  Molders.  Although 
machinery  molders  greatly  outnumbered  stove  molders  in 
the  United  States  during  the  eighties,  the  latter  were  the 
more  thoroughly  organized.  So  many  strikes  had  been 
supported  in  the  stove  branch  that  machinery  molders  had 
begun  to  feel  that  it  was  useless  for  them  to  unionize  since 
only  stove  molders,  apparently,  could  obtain  backing  for 
their  demands.  At  the  convention  of  1882  representatives 
from  machinery  molders'  local  unions  protested  against  the 
prevailing  strike  policy,  but  they  failed  to  effect  a  change 
because  the  stove  manufacturers  at  this  time  were  so  ag- 
gressive that  it  was  deemed  best  to  continue  the  fight  upon 
them  without  expending  strike  funds  in  less  critical  fields. 

The  more  radical  machinery  molders  now  determined 
upon  revolt.  Local  union  No.  244  of  Detroit  led  the  way 
by  issuing  a  call  to  other  local  unions  in  the  machinery 
branch  for  a  convention  to  meet  at  Detroit  on  February  5, 
1883.  Separate  organization  of  the  machinery  molders  was 
advocated  on  the  grounds  "  that  each  branch  of  the  trade 
could  best  legislate  for  its  own  wants  and  necessities;  and 
further,  that  the  burden  of  strikes  .  .  .  had  been  borne  by 
the  machinery  trade."  ^^  Only  two  unions  responded  to  the 
call.  In  conjunction  with  No.  244,  these  organizations  se- 
ceded from  the  union  and  formed  the  International  Brother- 
ly Iron  Molders'  Journal,  June,  1890,  p.  4. 


437]  JURISDICTION  49 

hood  of  Machinery  Molders.  For  a  year  or  two  the  new 
organization  made  some  progress  as  a  few  other  machinery 
molders'  local  unions  joined  its  ranks.  By  1886,  however, 
a  majority  of  the  seceding  local  unions  had  returned  to  the 
Molders  and  for  a  time  the  Brotherhood  was  almost  dead. 
In  August,  1887,  John  Penton,  later  commissioner  for  the 
National  Founders*  Association,  became  the  Brotherhood's 
president.  Under  his  leadership  new  life  resulted.  In  1888 
the  first  real  convention  was  held  and  an  official  journal 
was  started.  In  1892  eighty-two  local  unions  were  reported, 
chiefly  in  the  territory  west  of  Pittsburgh.^* 

The  union's  executive  board  had  at  once  suspended  No. 
244,  but  it  did  not  discipline  any  other  secessionists.  Con- 
ciliatory proceedings  prevailed  for  a  half-dozen  years,  as 
the  union  was  none  too  strong  during  this  period.  In  1886 
the  union  extended  a  "  cordial  invitation  "  to  the  secession- 
ists again  to  "  enroll  themselves  under  the  banner  of  our 
organization."^^  In  1888  the  convention  refused  to  sustain 
a  presidential  decision  that  a  molder  could  not  belong  to 
both  the  union  and  the  Brotherhood.  As  it  grew  in  mem- 
bership, however,  the  Brotherhood  began  to  excite  the  active 
hostility  of  the  union.  The  latter  first  tried  to  argue  its 
rival  out  of  existence  by  asserting  that  "  the  fundamental 
principles  of  trade  organizations  "  led  not  "  toward  division 
.  .  .  into  little  insignificant  bodies  because  of  their  special- 
ties," but  "  rather  toward  consolidation."  ^^  In  reply,  the 
outlaws  heaped  contempt  upon  the  old  organization  and 
bitterly  denounced  its  "  tyrannical  "  methods.  Since  settle- 
ment could  not  be  secured  by  discussion  the  only  recourse 
left  was  that  of  fighting  the  matter  out.  In  his  report  for 
1890  President  Fitzpatrick  condemned  the  "  lukewarm  ac- 
tion "  of  previous  years  and  urged  that  "  decided  action " 
be  taken  toward  the  rival  body.^^     Acting  upon  his  advice, 

1*  In  organization   and   policies  the   Brotherhood   was   patterned 
largely  after  the  union. 
15  Proceedings,   1886,  p.  32. 
1'  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  June,  1888,  p.  4. 
1^  Proceedings,  1890,  p.  10. 


50  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [438 

the  1890  convention  passed  resolutions  refusing  recognition 
to  any  other  union  of  iron  molders  and  emphasizing  the 
desirabiUty  of  "  one  card  and  one  union."  ^^  An  open  fight 
then  began.  In  several  cities  loyal  local  unions  voted  to 
expel  all  members  who  joined  the  "  red-card  "  brotherhood. 
At  other  places  where  strikes  had  been  called  by  the  Broth- 
erhood, the  strikers  were  replaced  by  members  of  the  union. 
In  spite  of  its  boasted  strength  the  Brotherhood  was  unable 
to  meet  the  assault  upon  it  otherwise  than  by  "  calling 
names."  Finally,  in  November,  1892,  the  Brotherhood 
"  sued  for  peace."  A  conference  between  the  contending 
factions  was  held  at  Indianapolis  on  April  11,  1893.  It 
was  agreed  to  submit  the  question  of  one  union  or  sepa- 
rate unions  to  the  machinery  molders  in  both  organizations. 
In  the  union  the  one-organization  program  was  carried  by 
the  overwhelming  vote  of  7,628  to  208.  The  vote  in  the 
Brotherhood  was  not  made  public,  but  a  majority  favored 
consolidation.  The  supremacy  of  the  union  thereafter  re- 
mained unquestioned  except  by  a  few  irreconcilables  who 
still  tried  to  keep  up  the  Brotherhood.^^  Within  a  short 
time  this  guerilla  warfare  also  ceased. 

(3)  Jurisdiction  over  Brass  Molding.  Although  the 
Molders  extended  their  jurisdiction  over  the  "  brass  branch  " 
in  1867,  for  many  years  they  made  no  special  efifort  to  or- 
ganize it,  since  their  interest  was  centered  in  the  iron  trade. 
During  the  eighties  the  Knights  of  Labor  attracted  many 
brass  molders  to  their  ranks.  In  1888  the  Knights  author- 
ized the  formation  of  National  Trades'  Assembly  No.  252 
to  include  molders  and  all  other  branches  connected  with 
the  brass  industry.  In  1890  a  secession  movement  within 
the  Trades'  Assembly  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  Inter- 
national Brotherhood  of  Brass  Workers.  Five  years  later 
the  Trades'  Assembly  and  the  Brass  Workers  combined 

18  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  August,  1890,  p.  2. 

19  Proceedings,  189S,  pp.  16-18.  In  January  1894.  the  Brother- 
hood still  reported  forty-nine  local  unions.  Most  cf  these  existed 
only  on  paper. 


43911  JURISDICTION  51 

under  the  title  of  the  United  Brotherhood  of  Brass  and 
Composition  Metal  Workers,  Polishers  and  Buffers.  Fi- 
nally, in  1896,  this  body  consolidated  with  another  organ- 
ization known  as  the  Metal  Polishers,  Buffers  and  Platers' 
International  Union  of  North  America  in  forming  the  Metal 
Polishers,  Buffers,  Platers  and  Brass  Workers'  Union  of 
North  America,  which  affiliated  with  the  American  Feder- 
ation of  Labor .2° 

As  the  various  unions  mentioned  above  were  established 
from  time  to  time,  the  Molders  began  to  give  greater  at- 
tention to  the  brass  branch.  Members  were  aroused  over 
the  possibility  of  losing  an  important  branch  of  the  trade 
and  efforts  were  made  to  organize  the  larger  brass  found- 
ries. Soon  after  their  formation  in  1896  the  Metal  Polish- 
ers also  began  a  campaign  for  the  organization  of  all  kinds 
of  brass  workers.  Low  dues  enabled  them  to  make  con- 
siderable headway  in  the  brass  foundry.  Occasionally  a 
journeyman  who  had  been  suspended  from  the  Molders  was 
admitted  and  at  once  complaint  would  be  made  that  the 
Polishers  were  affording  a  haven  for  scabs.  Before  long 
the  Polishers  began  to  act  upon  the  assumption  that  they 
possessed  sole  jurisdiction  over  the  brass  foundry.  In  order 
to  indicate  that  this  assumption  was  a  false  one  the  Molders. 
adopted  a  brief  but  significant  resolution  in  1902  asserting 
their  "  right  over  brass  molding."  They  also  voted  to  no- 
tify the  American  Federation  of  Labor,  as  the  arbiter  of 
jurisdictional  disputes,  that  a  definite  and  positive  stand  had 
been  taken.  While  the  Molders  insisted  upon  their  ex- 
clusive right  to  organize  brass  molders,  they  were  willing 
to  cede  to  the  Polishers  those  establishments  where  brass 
molders  formed  but  a  small  fraction  of  the  metal  workers. 
An  exchange  of  brass  molders'  cards  was  also  authorized.^^ 

The  Molders'  action  at  once  caused  the  Metal  Polishers 
to  bring  the  dispute  to  the  attention  of  the  American  Feder- 
ation in  the  following  December.     The  Federation  advised 

20  The  Journal  (Metal  Polishers),  September,  191 1,  pp.  33-40. 

21  Proceedings,  1902,  pp.  664,  675,  676,  725. 


52  THE  INTERNATIONAL  MOLDERS  UNION  [44O 

a  settlement  "  outside  of  the  convention."  "  Accordingly,  a 
conference  was  held  in  June,  1903,  but  no  progress  could  be 
made.  In  December  the  Polishers  appealed  again  to  the 
Federation  which  then  reached  a  definite  decision  in  favor 
of  the  Holders.  The  defeated  party,  however,  made  no 
move  to  carry  out  the  Federation's  edict.  Further  con- 
ferences between  the  disputants  followed.  At  these  meet- 
ings, as  at  the  hearings  before  the  Federation,  the  Holders 
contended  that  they  were  the  older  body,  that  they  had  al- 
ways claimed  jurisdiction  over  brass  molding,  as  well  as 
all  other  forms  of  the  trade  such  as  grey  iron,  malleable, 
steel,  and  mixed-metal  molding,  and  that  they  were  actually 
a  "metal  molders'  union."  No  agreement  was  reached, 
however,  although  the  Holders  readily  conceded  the  smaller 
brass  foundries  to  the  opposing  side.^^ 

In  1909,  after  two  further  conferences  with  the  Polishers 
had  failed  to  accomplish  anything,  the  Holders'  local  unions 
were  instructed  to  use  every  effort  to  organize  the  brass 
molders.  In  the  same  year  the  American  Federation  of 
Labor  reaffirmed  its  decision  of  1903.  Discovering  that 
their  charter  from  the  Federation  was  likely  to  be  with- 
drawn in  case  they  did  not  adhere  to  the  decision,  the  Pol- 
ishers' officers  agreed  to  surrender,  provided  the  settlement 
was  endorsed  by  their  membership.  In  January,  191 1,  the 
Polishers  held  a  referendum  which  produced  a  majority  of 
1,195  in  favor  of  obeying  the  Federation.  On  Harch  i, 
191 1,  408  brass  molders  were  transferred  by  the  Polishers 
to  the  Holders  and  the  jurisdictional  dispute  was  at  an 
-^nd. 

(4)  Jurisdiction  over  Coremaking.  In  the  early  days 
"the  molder  made  his  own  cores.  As  the  molding  industry 
developed,  the  specialized  coremaker  came  into  existence. 
In  many  of  the  smaller  shops,  however,  the  molder  was 
still  compelled  to  be  his  own  coremaker.     Throughout  the 

2a  Proceedingfs  (Metal  Polishers),  1903,  p.  18. 
23  Iron   Molders'   Journal,  November,   1905,  p.  851 ;   Proceedings, 
^907,  p.  32;  1912,  p.  4. 


44l]  JURISDICTION  53 

trade  generally,  indeed,  a  knowledge  of  cores  continued  to 
be  very  valuable  to  molders,  so  much  so  that  boys  learning 
to  mold  were  generally  given  several  months  on  the  core- 
bench,  Coremakers  as  such  were  not  admissible  to  mem- 
bership in  the  early  molders'  unions.  Neither  were  they 
eligible  for  admission  under  the  rules  of  the  International 
Union  at  first.  As  time  went  on  it  was  discovered  that 
scab  molders  were  drifting  to  the  core-bench  and  that  the 
bargaining  power  of  the  machinery  and  jobbing  molders, 
especially,  was  weakened  by  non-union  conditions  in  the 
core-rooms.  Accordingly,  union  molders  began  to  point  out 
the  necessity  of  admitting  coremakers  to  membership. 

By  1888  coremakers  had  begun  to  organize  independently. 
To  this  movement  the  Molders  gave  considerable  support 
at  first.  The  main  consideration  of  the  times  was  to  get 
the  coremakers  unionized  in  order  to  make  the  core-room  an 
auxiliary  to  the  foundry  floor  in  carrying  out  union  prin- 
ciples. The  convention  of  1890  authorized  local  unions 
wherever  possible  to  assist  in  the  organization  of  core- 
makers.  A  few  local  unions  came  out  on  sympathetic 
strikes  in  behalf  of  the  coremakers,  but,  generally  speaking, 
the  Molders  tended  strictly  to  their  own  disputes. 

In  1896  the  Core  Makers'  International  Union  was  formed 
and  granted  a  charter  in  the  American  Federation  of  Labor. 
By  this  time  the  Molders'  enthusiasm  for  separate  organ- 
ization had  begun  to  abate  since  it  had  been  found  that 
when  members  went  on  a  strike,  their  places  were  frequently 
taken  by  coremakers  who  knew  something  about  molding. 
The  offenders  justified  their  course  on  the  ground  that 
molders  had  seldom  come  to  the  coremakers'  aid  in  time  of 
difficulty.  Many  molders  now  began  to  favor  amalgama- 
tion as  a  solution  for  the  lack  of  cooperation  between  the 
two  unions.  It  was  pointed  out  that  separate  organiza- 
tion prevented  molders  from  going  on  the  core-bench  when- 
ever a  larger  number  of  coremakers  was  needed  than  could 
be  supplied  by  the  coremakers'  union.     Other  molders  op- 


54  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [442 

posed  amalgamation  as  a  step  towards  "the  level  of  a  mis- 
cellaneous branch  of  the  Knights  of  Labor  "  and  expressed 
the  fear  that  it  would  lead  the  coremakers  to  depend  upon 
the  molders  to  fight  their  battles.^* 

Lack  of  harmony  between  the  two  unions  soon  led  to  a 
state  of  affairs  where  a  serious  breach  was  threatened.  The 
Core  Makers  felt  that  if  the  Molders  would  only  adopt  a 
more  liberal  attitude  toward  sympathetic  strikes  the  chief 
difficulty  would  be  solved.  In  April,  1897,  they  asked  the 
Molders'  executive  board  what  attitude  it  would  assume  in 
case  coremakers  became  involved  in  difficulty  with  a  foundry 
management.  The  board,  in  a  conservative  reply,  expressed 
itself  strongly  "  against  rushing  headlong  into  a  sympathetic 
strike"  and  declared  that  in  all  cases  union  molders  must 
comply  with  the  strike  laws  of  their  organization  before  quit- 
ting work  in  support  of  any  other  body  of  unionists.  Sev- 
eral months  after  the  board  had  stated  its  attitude  toward 
sympathetic  action,  trouble  occurred  in  Denver,  where 
molders  had  been  officially  authorized  to  make  the  cores  for 
a  shop  which  had  been  struck  by  the  coremakers.  In  defend- 
ing the  action  of  his  members  President  Fox  declared  fair 
warning  had  been  given  that  coremakers  would  hot  be  as- 
sisted in  disputes  into  which  they  might  enter  with  little  re- 
straint and  that  molders,  who  had  never  surrendered  their 
right  to  make  cores,  could  not  be  expected  to  drop  their  tools 
every  time  two  or  three  coremakers  went  on  strike.  The 
explanation,  however,  failed  to  convince  the  complaining 
party  that  it  had  received  proper  treatment. 

At  the  Molders'  convention  of  1899  the  coremaker  ques- 
tion was  thoroughly  discussed.  The  convention  voted  to 
recognize  the  Core  Makers  as  a  separate  organization,  al- 
though the  molders'  right  to  make  cores,  when  asked  to 
do  so  by  the  foreman,  was  firmly  upheld,  except  when  core- 
makers  were  upon  a  "  legitimate  '*  strike.  Molders  who 
worked  regularly  at  coremaking  were  instructed  to  affiliate 

2*  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  July,  1896,  p.  289;  August,  p.  320. 


443]  JURISDICTION  55 

with  the  proper  union.  In  November,  1899,  and  again  in 
December,  1901,  conferences  were  held  between  the  con- 
tending parties  to  see  if  it  were  possible  to  reach  common 
ground.  On  each  occasion  the  Core  Makers  endeavored  to 
secure  exclusive  control  over  their  "  trade  "  and  to  pledge 
the  molders  to  a  policy  of  sympathetic  strikes.  The  latter, 
however,  tenaciously  insisted  upon  the  right  of  molders  and 
apprentices  to  make  cores  when  instructed  to  do  so  by  fore- 
men, and  refused  to  alter  their  strike  regulations.  After 
the  first  conference  the  molders  took  a  referendum  vote  on 
the  question  of  affiliating  all  competent  coremakers,  but  the 
members  still  preferred  a  middle-of-the-road  policy  and  de- 
feated the  resolution.  Disputes  between  the  two  organiza- 
tions continued  to  arise.  In  several  instances  coremakers 
went  on  strike  when  foremen  directed  molders  to  assist  in 
making  cores. 

In  1902  President  Fox  recommended  complete  control  of 
coremaking  by  the  Molders  as  a  solution  of  the  jurisdiction 
problem.  Favorable  action  was  taken  upon  the  recom- 
mendation. It  was  voted,  first,  to  invite  all  competent  mem- 
bers of  the  Core  Makers'  Union  to  join  the  Molders'  Union. 
Secondly,  the  officers  of  the  Core  Makers  were  asked  to 
take  up  the  amalgamation  issue  with  their  members. 
Thirdly,  the  Molders'  incoming  officers  were  authorized  to 
decide  whether  an  alliance  with  the  Core  Makers,  involving 
sympathetic  strikes,  should  be  formulated.  The  Core 
Makers  were  also  invited  through  a  conference  to  consider 
amalgamation.  Meanwhile  coremakers  were  to  be  admitted 
to  membership  on  a  special  "  coremakers'  card."  The 
final  action  of  the  convention  consisted  in  revising  the  con- 
stitution to  read:  "This  Union  shall  have  jurisdiction  over 
the  trade  of  molding  in  all  its  branches  and  subdivisions, 
including  coremaking."  ^^  At  their  next  convention,  later 
in  1902,  the  Core  Makers,  more  or  less  weary  of  strife, 
decided  to  submit  the  amalgamation  issue  to  their  member- 

25  Proceedings,  1902,  pp.  618,  738,  747,  766. 


56  THE  INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [444 

ship  for  a  referendum  vote.  Before  this  action  was  taken 
assurance  was  had  from  the  Holders'  officers  that  consol- 
idation would  not  mean  elimination.  When  the  referendum 
was  taken  a  majority  of  120  out  of  3,366  votes  cast  was 
found  to  favor  consolidation.  Accordingly,  on  May  2, 
1903,  the  Core  Makers'  International  Union  formally  turned 
over  its  5,671  members  and  went  out  of  existence.  Ac- 
cording to  the  view  of  some,  the  amalgamation  of  core- 
makers  and  molders  would  appear  to  be  a  step  in  the  di- 
rection of  industrialism.  The  groups  affected,  however, 
look  upon  coremaking  as  but  one  of  the  processes  in  mold- 
ing, that  is,  the  preparation  of  the  inside  of  the  mold. 


CHAPTER  V 


Membership 


Apprenticeship  and  Competency. — The  Holders  have  al- 
ways considered  apprenticeship  and  competency  as  joint  pre- 
requisites for  membership.  Competency,  indeed,  has  been 
supposed  to  arise  in  no  small  measure  from  the  observance 
of  the  apprenticeship  system.  Consequently,  a  boy  who  has 
been  reared  in  the  trade  as  an  apprentice  under  the  guid- 
ance of  qualified  journeymen  has  always  been  more  ac- 
ceptable as  a  member  than  any  other  person.  Further- 
more, preference  has  always  been  expressed  for  apprentices 
who  have  learned  to  mold  in  union  shops  since  the  training 
received  in  such  places  has  been  under  the  direct  super- 
vision of  the  organization. 

The  early  Philadelphia  union  limited  its  membership  to 
"  practical  journeymen  molders,"  and  the  Troy  union  im- 
posed a  fine  upon  members  proposing  the  names  of  persons 
who  had  not  served  bona  fide  apprenticeships.^  The  Inter- 
national Union  provided  at  its  first  convention  that  "  any 
molder,  after  serving  an  apprenticeship  of  four  years  at  his 
trade  and  competent  to  command  the  general  average  of 
wages,  may  be  admitted  to  membership  in  any  local  union." ' 
The  helper  system,  together  with  the  more  or  less  irregular 
apprenticeship  practices  of  unorganized  shops,  in  time  cre- 
ated a  group  of  mechanics  who  had  not  served  a  regular 
apprenticeship  but  who  were  often  as  competent  as  if  they 
had  done  so.  Had  the  union  continued  to  bar  such  persons, 
it  would  have  created  a  permanent  body  of  non-unionists. 
Accordingly,  in    1878   admission    was   made   possible    for 

^  Journeymen  Stove  and  Hollow-ware  Moulders'  Union  of  Phila- 
delphia, Constitution  and  By-Laws,  1855,  art.  i,  sec.  i ;  art.  2,  sec. 
5;  Troy  local  union,  Minutes,  MS.,  June  18,  1863, 

2  Constitution,   1859,  art.  8. 

57 


gg  THE  INTERNATIONAL  MOLDERS  UNION  [446 

molders  who  had  worked  at  the  trade  for  four  years  and 
were  able  to  prove  their  competency.  In  1902  it  was  de- 
cided that  the  prerequisite  apprenticeship  of  four  years  at 
the  trade  might  take  place  in  any  of  the  branches  or  sub- 
divisions of  the  trade,  including  coremaking. 

Competency  was  first  described  as  ability  to  command  the 
general  average  of  wages.  With  the  extension  of  juris- 
diction over  the  molding  of  stoves,  machinery,  hollowware, 
brass,  steel,  aluminum,  and  mixed  metals,  and  over  core- 
making,  it  proved  impracticable  to  proceed  on  the  basis  of 
the  general  average  wages  because  different  wage  scales 
prevailed  in  the  various  branches.  Accordingly,  in  1902,  a 
molder  was  declared  to  be  competent  if  able  "  to  command 
the  general  average  of  wages  paid  in  the  branch  or  subdi- 
vision with  which  he  is  identified."  ^  The  fact  of  com- 
petency is  something  to  be  decided  by  the  foundryman. 
If  a  man  can  satisfy  his  employer  as  to  his  ability  to  earn 
the  minimum  rate,  then  he  is  competent  enough  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  membership.  If  a  member's  discharge  is  a  case 
of  "  victimization,"  the  organization  endeavors  to  secure  his 
reemployment,  but  where  discharge  is  plainly  due  to  incom- 
petency, the  member  must  suffer  for  his  lack  of  skill. 

One  problem  in  the  trade  has  been  the  "  handy  man,"  an 
individual  described  as  a  "  molder,  yet  not  a  molder — a  man 
of  no  skill,  yet  skilled  in  making  simple  work — an  enigma."  * 
The  admission  of  this  type  of  workman  has  been  steadily 
resisted  by  the  rank  and  file  of  the  union  although  here 
and  there  members  have  suggested  a  more  liberal  policy. 
Strikes  against  the  use  of  "  handy  men  "  as  molders  have 
been  frequent. 

With  the  advent  of  the  molding  machine  many  employers 
hired  operators  who  were  not  practical  molders.  After  a 
certain  period  of  opposition  to  the  use  of  machinery  for 
molding  purposes  the  union  finally  decided  to  get  control  of 
the  new  devices.     When  it  was  discovered  that  most  em- 

8  Ibid.,  1902,  art.  8,  sec.  i. 

*  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  January,  1900,  p.  22. 


447]  MEMBERSHIP  59 

ployers  opposed  the  use  of  skilled  molders  upon  machines, 
the  union  decided  in  1907  to  admit  "  any  molder  competent 
to  operate  any  machine,  squeezer,  or  other  mechanical  de- 
vice used  for  the  purpose  of  molding  castings  in  sand  " 
without  his  having  served  a  regular  apprenticeship.  Per- 
sons admitted  as  machine  operators  were  to  "  be  so  desig- 
nated on  their  card  and  due-book "  and  were  not  to  be 
permitted  to  work  on  the  bench  or  floor  without  first  having 
served  the  regular  apprenticeship.^ 

Admission  of  Negroes. — Negroes  were  first  employed  in 
foundries  as  laborers.  In  the  course  of  time  they  proved 
able  to  pick  up  parts  of  the  molding  trade,  chiefly  in  stove, 
sash-weight  and  pipe  shops.  White  molders,  who  disliked 
the  competition  of  the  colored  "  handy  man  "  and  associa- 
tion with  him,  endeavored  to  stop  his  progress  in  the  trade 
by  ridiculing  his  clumsy  efforts  and  his  inferior  results. 
Finally,  however,  the  negro's  willingness  to  accept  extremely 
low  wages  began  to  cause  alarm.  Notwithstanding  this 
danger  to  their  wage  scales,  the  local  unions  in  the  South 
for  racial  reasons  entirely  excluded  negroes  from  member- 
ship through  the  unwillingness  of  their  members  to  propose 
a  negro's  name.  Meanwhile  the  negro  extended  his  field 
of  operations  and  improved  his  skill. 

By  1896  the  competition  of  negro  molders  had  become  so 
acute  that  the  executive  board,  moved  in  part  by  complaints 
from  employers  of  white  labor,  condemned  the  "  racial  prej- 
udices of  a  past  generation  "  and  strongly  urged  that  efforts 
be  made  to  organize  the  negroes  of  the  South  and  thus 
counteract  their  "  debasing  influence"  upon  the  trade.*'  To 
carry  out  this  plan  proved  a  difiticult  problem  because  the 
negro  had  not  forgotten  "  the  bitter  antagonism  with  which 
his  original  aspirations  were  confronted "  and  because  he 
feared  that  preference  would  be  granted  the  white  molder 
if   he   demanded   equal   pay   for   equal   work.'^     The   situ- 


^  Constitution,  1907,  art.  8,  sec.  6. 

'  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  July,  1896,  p.  279. 

7  Ibid.,  July,  1898,  p.  328. 


6o  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [448 

ation  was  further  complicated  when  several  local  unions, 
both  in  the  "  border  states "  and  in  the  "  Far  South," 
flatly  refused  to  admit  negro  molders. 

In  1900  the  international  officers  definitely  took  charge 
of  the  situation.  At  their  solicitation  local  union  No. 
53,  of  Chattanooga,  where  the  negro  molder  predominated, 
agreed  to  make  an  effort  to  organize  colored  journeymen. 
A  few  of  the  latter  took  out  cards,  but  they  quickly  dropped 
their  membership  when  their  employers  threatened  to  make 
affiliation  with  unions  a  cause  for  discharge.  Since  it 
proved  difficult  to  get  Chattanooga  negroes  into  a  regular 
local  union,  a  "  protectorate  "  was  established  over  the  dis- 
trict through  an  independent  colored  local  union  which  paid 
no  dues  to  the  International  and  which,  in  fact,  was  under 
no  obligations  of  any  sort  to  that  body.  The  latter,  how- 
ever, promised  financial  assistance  to  the  negro  union  and 
stipulated  that  no  white  molder  would  be  allowed  to  take 
the  place  of  a  colored  journeyman  on  strike.  The  new 
plan  did  not  work  satisfactorily  since  the  negroes  seemed 
to  feel  that  with  their  inferior  skill  they  were  better  off 
out  of  labor  organizations  than  in  them.* 

For  several  years  the  situation  remained  unchanged,  ex- 
cept that  the  number  of  negro  molders  increased.  The 
international  officers  steadily  carried  on  a  campaign  of  edu- 
cation designed  to  show  the  necessity  of  recognizing  the 
negro.  Members  contended  that  the  admission  of  negroes 
would  induce  more  of  them  to  enter  the  trade,  but  the 
officers  pointed  out  that  the  union  had  to  deal  with  a  con- 
dition, not  a  theory,  since  there  were  already  seven  or  eight 
hundred  negroes  employed  at  molding.  The  members  were 
asked  whether  they  desired  to  make  the  negro  an  ally  or  a 
permanent  non-unionist,  whose  employment  would  prevent 
the  organization  from  obtaining  control  of  many  important 
shops.     In  1911  the  view  of  the  International  finally  gained 

8  The  case  mentioned  here  is  the  only  instance  where  the 
Molders  have  ever  formed  a  local  union  independent  of  the 
central  body. 


449]  MEMBERSHIP  6l 

recognition.  In  that  year  the  Birmingham  local  union,  the 
largest  in  the  South,  not  only  decided  to  admit  all  negro 
molders  and  coremakers  in  its  jurisdiction  but  it  also  made 
vigorous  efforts  to  carry  out  its  policy.  Since  191 1  other 
local  unions  have  also  let  down  the  bars.  The  actual  organ- 
ization of  negroes,  however,  has  proceeded  slowly.  Race 
prejudice  has  by  no  means  been  overcome,  and  the  em- 
ployers of  negroes  have  discovered  that  it  is  easy  to  keep 
their  men  out  of  unions  by  discharging  the  first  two  or 
three  who  obtain  membership. 

Exclusion  of  Women. — The  Holders'  Union  has  "  stead- 
fastly frowned  upon  the  employment  of  women  in  or  about 
the  foundry."  It  has  contended  that  heavy,  dangerous, 
grimy  and  dusty  work  is  physically  injurious  to  women  and 
incompatible  with  their  "  finer  nature,"  and  that  the  lower 
labor  standards  generally  acceptable  to  women  constitute 
a  menace  to  the  standards  obtained  by  men.  In  spite  of  the 
union's  opposition,  women  have  entered  the  trade,  especially 
through  the  core-room.  As  early  as  1884  women  core- 
makers  and  foundry  employees  were  working  in  Detroit. 
At  first  the  experiment  with  women  coremakers  was  not 
a  success,  but  before  long  many  foundrymen  favored  female 
help  because  it  was  believed  that  trained  women  could  make 
better  cores  than  men  where  a  nice  and  careful  adjustment 
was  required  and  because  women  did  not  take  to  unionism. 

No  particular  attention  was  given  by  the  Molders  to  the 
"  woman  question  "  till  after  amalgamation  with  the  Core 
Makers'  in  1903.  The  number  of  women  in  the  foundries 
was  comparatively  small  prior  to  that  time.°  Gradually, 
however,  the  number  of  women  coremakers  increased  as 
large  industry  found  it  profitable  to  utilize  them.  Instead 
of  being  a  mere  industrial  curiosity,  the  female  foundry 
employee  now  became  an  industrial  problem.  At  the  1907 
convention  the  seriousness  of  the  situation  was  fully  recog- 
nized.    Thus  far  no  provision  covering  female  labor  had 

8  In    1897   only   forty-six   women   were   reported   as   working  at 

molding,  including  coremaking. 


62  THE  INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [450 

been  incorporated  into  the  rules  of  the  union  although  the 
employment  of  both  women  and  children  had  always  been 
discouraged.  It  was  now  decided  to  bend  every  effort  to 
eliminate  female  labor  from  the  foundry,  and  to  this  end 
it  was  voted  to  fine  any  member,  honorary  or  active,  who 
gave  instruction  to  "  female  help  in  the  foundry  at  any 
branch  of  the  trade."  ^'^  This  fine  was  not  to  exceed  fifty 
dollars,  and  for  a  second  offense  the  offending  member  was 
to  be  expelled.  During  the  next  few  years  several  strikes 
were  called  against  the  employment  of  women  coremakers. 
In  spite  of  these  rules,  women  coremakers  continued  to 
increase  in  non-union  foundries.  In  the  malleable  iron 
trade  is  was  reported  in  1912  that  1,039  women  were  en- 
gaged at  work  in  ninety  shops.  In  order  to  reach  establish- 
ments where  labor  organization  would  prove  very  difficult, 
the  Holders  endeavored  to  secure  restrictive  legislation. 
In  1910  a  bill  to  prohibit  the  employment  of  woman  core- 
makers  was  introduced  in  the  New  York  legislature  but  it 
failed  to  pass.  At  the  next  session  of  the  legislature  the 
bill  was  reintroduced  and  the  International  sent  a  lobbyist 
to  work  for  its  passage.  In  191 2  the  preliminary  report 
of  the  Factory  Investigating  Commission  of  the  State  of 
New  York  appeared,  in  which  it  was  recommended  that 
female  labor  in  foundries  be  prohibited.  Largely  as  a  re- 
sult of  the  Commission's  report,  the  legislature  in  191 3 
passed  a  bill  which  prohibited  the  employment  of  women  in 
core-rooms  containing  core  ovens,  and  authorized  the  State 
Industrial  Board  to  adopt  regulations  covering  the  size  and 
weight  of  cores  which  might  be  made  by  women.  In  for- 
mulating its  rules  the  Board  ordered  that  women  should 
not  be  allowed  to  handle  cores  having  a  temperature  of  over 
no  degrees  Fahrenheit,  or  to  work  at  tasks  where  the  com- 
bined weight  of  the  core,  corebox,  and  plate  exceeded 
twenty-five  pounds.^^     Soon  after  the  enactment  of  the  New 

10  Proceedings,  1907,  pp.  93,  116,  157,  169,  180. 
"J.    O.    O'Leary,    "New    York    State    Foundry   Rules    Recently 
Adopted,"  in  International  Holders'  Journal,  July,  1915,  p.  501. 


45 1]  MEMBERSHIP  63 

York  legislation,  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  passed  bills  mak- 
ing fifteen  pounds  the  maximum  combined  weight  of  core- 
box,  core,  and  plate  which  women  were  permitted  to  handle. 
The  passage  of  restrictive  legislation  in  all  three  States  soon 
had  "  a  marked  effect  on  some  of  the  trust  foundries," 
where,  according  to  reliable  witnesses,  women  had  worked 
on  cores  "  the  combined  weight  of  which  would  be  over 
150  pounds,  requiring  three  or  four  women  to  roll  them 
over."  ^-  In  Massachusetts  and  New  Jersey  "  female  core- 
makers'  bills  "  were  introduced,  but  failed  of  adoption. 

At  both  the  1912  and  1917  conventions  resolutions  were 
offered  to  admit  women  coremakers  on  the  ground  that 
they  were  "  here  to  stay."  The  delegates,  however,  re- 
fused to  alter  the  policy  of  the  union.  In  1912  women 
coremakers  in  Boston  went  on  strike.  Local  union  No.  106 
of  that  city  asked  the  executive  board  to  give  the  strike 
financial  support,  but  the  board  refused  to  lend  its  recogni- 
tion or  encouragement  to  the  movement.^^ 

Honorary  Membership. — The  Holders  have  never  al- 
lowed members  to  resign  from  the  union.  To  permit  the 
severing  of  membership  by  resignation  would  enable  per- 
sons who  violate  union  rules  to  avoid  union  discipline. 
Non-active  or  honorary  membership,  however,  has  been 
recognized  at  all  times.  The  Troy  union  on  June  9,  1859, 
voted  that  members  no  longer  employed  at  the  trade  should 
be  given  the  privilege  of  becoming  honorary  members,  ex- 
empt from  all  dues  and  assessments.  When  the  Interna- 
tional Union  was  founded,  it  allowed  active  members  who 
desired  to  quit  the  trade  to  be  placed  upon  an  "  honorary- 
list."  Upon  their  return  to  the  foundry  floor  such  persons 
became  entitled  to  "  clear "  cards  for  which  dues  were  to 
be  paid  from  the  date  of  deposit  in  a  local  union.  In  1872 
the  "  honorary  card  "  was  adopted  in  place  of  the  "  list "  be- 

^2  Letter  to  the  writer  from  Editor  John  P.  Frey. 

^3  International  Holders'  Journal,  January,  1913,  p.  30.  The  cen- 
sus for  1910  gave  the  number  of  women  employed  in  all  foundries 
as  1,298. 


64  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [452 

cause  it  afforded  better  proof  of  a  member's  status.  In 
1876  it  was  provided,  further,  that  "  any  practical  molder 
not  following  the  business  and  in  good  bodily  health  and 
qualified  by  the  articles  of  this  constitution  "  might  become 
an  honorary  member  upon  "taking  the  obligation,  signing 
the  constitution,  and  paying  the  initiation  fee."^*  After 
1886  this  scheme  was  abandoned  since  there  was  no  par- 
ticular advantage  in  attaching  to  the  union  persons  who 
were  non-active  from  the  date  of  their  affiliation.  In  1899 
a  third  class  of  honorary  members  was  created  when  the 
convention  endorsed  an  official  decision  that  members  re- 
ceiving disability  benefits  should  be  granted  retiring  cards 
and  should  not  receive  further  benefits.^^ 

Not  until  1868  did  the  rules  say  anything  about  the  status 
of  members  who  became  foremen  and  employers.  It  was 
then  provided  that  honorary  membership  might  be  granted 
to  foremen  who  were  clear  on  the  local  union  books,  ex- 
cepting foremen  of  cooperative  shops,  whose  crews,  from 
top  to  bottom,  were  considered  journeymen.  Amendment 
was  made  to  the  rule  in  1876  when  honorary  membership 
was  forbidden  to  a  foreman  who  worked  on  the  floor  and 
thus  took  the  place  of  a  journeyman.  This  regulation  still 
obtains.  In  1895  honorary  membership  for  employers  and 
foremen  became  compulsory  instead  of  optional.  Four 
years  later  it  was  voted  that  the  new  rule  should  not  be 
construed  as  "  applying  to  members  of  a  cooperative  foundry 
or  those  holding  shares  in  a  joint  stock  company,  who  work 
at  the  trade."  ^®  In  1907  the  union  returned  to  its  original 
policy  and  made  honorary  membership  optional  for  em- 
ployers and  foremen  on  the  ground  that  mere  advance  in 
rank  was  not  to  be  "  contrued  as  leaving  the  trade."  ^'^ 

The  existing  rules  relating  to  honorary  standing  may  be 
briefly  summarized  by  stating  that  such  standing  must  be 

^*  Constitution,  1876,  art.  9,  sec.  8. 

15  Ibid.,  1899,  Decision  No.  30. 

16  Ibid.,  1895,  art.  11,  sec.  2;  Proceedings,  1899,  p.  179. 
1^  Constitution,  1907,  art.  11,  sec.  2. 


453]  MEMBERSHIP  65 

assumed  only  by  members  who  have  drawn  disability  ben- 
efits, and  that  as  for  others  who  cease  work  as  journeymen, 
active  membership  may  be  maintained  if  it  is  desired.  As 
a  matter  of  course,  most  members  entitled  to  honorary 
cards  decide  to  draw  them. 

Expulsion  and  Suspension. — For  many  years  suspension 
and  expulsion  went  unregulated  by  the  International  Union. 
The  lack  of  uniformity  which  prevailed  had  a  demoralizing 
influence,  since  in  some  local  unions  it  was  very  easy  to 
expel  a  member  while  in  others  even  a  reprimand  was  diffi- 
cult to  obtain.  Uniform  procedure  relative  to  expulsion 
was  finally  provided  in  1873  when  a  decision  by  President 
Saffin  was  sustained  by  the  convention.  The  decision  held 
that  before  a  member  could  be  expelled  he  must  be  given 
an  open  trial  before  a  committee  of  his  local  union,  after 
charges  had  been  submitted  in  writing,  and  that  the  vote 
to  expel  must  be  carried  by  a  two  thirds  majority.  The 
convention  of  1876  provided  the  same  procedure  for  sus- 
pension, fines,  and  reprimand  as  for  expulsion  and  regu- 
lated the  method  of  voting  upon  the  various  penalties.  In 
1895  it  was  ordered  that  where  a  verdict  in  favor  of  ex- 
pulsion had  been  rendered,  a  synopsis  of  the  charges,  tes- 
timony and  findings  be  submitted  to  the  president  of  the 
International  Union  for  approval,  and  that  the  defendant 
be  given  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  executive  board  as  a 
final  court.  Although  this  rule  made  the  local  unions  ob- 
serve more  care  in  cases  of  discipline,  the  number  of  mem- 
bers expelled  and  suspended  annually  continued  to  be  large, 
as  witnessed  by  the  fact  that  there  were  6,934  reinstatements 
in  1912  and  5,254  in  1914.  In  order  to  prevent  local  unions 
from  placing  prohibitive  financial  penalties  upon  expelled 
members,  the  convention  of  1902  placed  a  limit  of  $50.00 
upon  all  fines. 

Reinstatement  and  Amnesties. — The  first  general  rule  to 
be  adopted  relative  to  reinstatement  was  an  approved  presi- 
dential decision  declaring  that  a  suspended  or  expelled  mem- 
5 


66  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [454 

ber  could  be  reinstated  only  by  the  "direct  vote"  of  the 
union  which  imposed  the  penalty,  "on  payment  of  all  in- 
debtedness." ^^  This  regulation  was  designed  to  prevent 
the  regaining  of  good  standing  through  local  unions  where 
the  records  of  applicants  were  not  known.  In  1886  it  was 
provided  that  a  member  suspended  for  non-payment  of  dues 
might  be  readmitted,  after  paying  his  indebtedness,  by  a 
majority  vote  of  his  union.  In  1890  the  same  rule  was 
applied  to  all  suspended  and  expelled  members.  At  present 
a  member  suspended  for  non-payment  of  dues  is  reinstated 
automatically  on  payment  of  his  debts,  but  an  expelled  mem- 
ber, after  paying  all  fines  against  him,  must  again  be  "  ob- 
ligated." 

In  times  of  stress  the  American  trade  union  has  frequently 
been  very  lenient  with  delinquent,  suspended,  or  expelled 
members  in  order  to  prevent  the  creation  of  a  large  body  of 
potential  or  active  non-unionists.  During  such  times  it  has 
been  the  policy  to  proclaim  "  amnesties  "  and  to  extend  for- 
giveness for  past  delinquencies  usually  upon  payment  of  a 
sum  of  money  much  smaller  than  is  ordinarily  required  for 
reinstatement.  The  Holders  have  granted  amnesties  of  two 
types,  local  and  general,  both  of  which  have  been  under 
the  control  of  the  International  Union. 

In  his  report  to  the  convention  of  1867  President  Sylvis 
declared  that  a  "  general  pardon  to  delinquents  could  be 
adopted  with  great  advantage  to  the  organization."  In  the 
early  years  of  the  union  many  molders  thought  it  "  an  ex- 
periment not  likely  to  succeed,  while  others  doubted  the 
correctness  of  the  principle  upon  which  it  was  founded  and 
others  kept  aloof  from  it  for  want  of  moral  courage  to  meet 
the  opposition  of  employers."  With  the  progress  of  the 
organization,  continued  the  report,  "  many  of  these  men, 
through  conviction  or  force  on  the  part  of  the  union,  became 
members  and  have  since  become  delinquents,  and  are  now 
either  suspended  or  expelled;  and  many  of  them  express 

"  International  Journal,  February,  1873.  p.  10. 


455]  MEMBERSHIP  67 

a  sincere  desire  to  be  reinstated,  while  they  remain  out  from 
fear  of  the  fines  and  penalties  that  might  be  imposed  were 
they  to  apply  for  admission."  Many  molders  who  had  been 
expelled,  not  for  scabbing  but  for  non-payment  of  dues  and 
taxes,  were  "  kept  away  by  the  size  of  the  bills  against  them." 
Sylvis  estimated  that  at  the  time  there  were  in  the  union's 
jurisdiction  more  than  2,500  non-members  who  comprised 
"the  reservoir  from  which  the  employers  expect  to  draw 
their  aid  in  cases  of  difficulty."  ^^  The  convention  accepted 
the  president's  advice  and  authorized  him  to  offer  a  general 
amnesty  to  all  suspended  and  expelled  members  upon  their 
paying  one  half  of  the  amount  due  their  respective  unions 
on  or  before  August  i,  1867.  Molders  twice  expelled  were 
excluded  from  these  provisions.  One  year  later  Sylvis  re- 
ported that  the  amnesty,  which  had  been  extended  on  Feb- 
ruary 2,  1867,  had  resulted  in  bringing  a  large  number  of 
men  back  into  the  union.  Since  there  continued  to  be  need 
for  leniency  in  some  foundry  centers,  the  1868  convention 
decided  to  allow  each  subordinate  union  to  offer  local  am- 
nesties on  such  terms  as  they  saw  fit,  provided  that  no 
member  be  excused  from  paying  delinquent  taxes  due  the 
International  Union.  The  same  policy  was  continued  irt 
1870.  In  the  next  two  years  several  unions  voted  to  read- 
mit members  in  arrears  upon  payments  running  from  five 
to  fifteen  dollars.  The  success  of  the  movement  varied  in 
different  places.  Considerable  dissatisfaction  resulted  from 
the  lack  of  uniformity  in  the  terms  offered  by  the  various 
local  unions.  To  remedy  this  situation  the  international 
president  was  authorized  in  1872  to  readmit  all  suspended 
members  on  payment  of  five  dollars. 

The  panic  of  1873  presented  a  problem  in  the  hundreds 
of  members  who  were  suspended  or  expelled  for  non-pay- 
ment of  dues.  It  was  soon  felt  that  employers  were  taking 
advantage  of  the  situation  and  that  self-preservation  re- 
quired the  union  to  make  "  a  grand  effort  to  unite  every 

^^  Proceedings,  1867,  p.  20. 


68  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS   UNION  [456 

molder  in  the  country  against  the  common  enemy."  ^°  In 
1876,  therefore,  the  president  was  empowered  to  reinstate 
suspended  or  expelled  members  upon  payment  of  such 
amounts  as  he  might  fix.  Since  local  unions  were  not  pro- 
hibited from  offering  amnesties  of  their  own,  the  president 
threw  the  burden  of  the  program  upon  them.  In  many 
cases  the  local  unions  responded  satisfactorily  and  the  de- 
sired reorganization,  as  it  was  termed,  was  achieved.  Some- 
times, however,  "  it  was  hard  to  persuade  a  local  union  to 
remit  a  fine  or  reduce  a  bill  of  taxes  "  even  though  "  such 
action  was  the  cause  of  keeping  out  men  .  .  ,  who  had 
become  suspended,  etc.,  for  want  of  means  to  pay  taxes." 
Consequently,  President  Saffin  was  again  given  power  in 
1878  to  grant  amnesties  for  reorganization  purposes  where 
local  unions  refused  to  do  so.  In  October  of  that  year 
Saffin  gave  notice  that  he  would  reinstate  suspended  mem- 
bers on  payment  of  five  dollars,  provided  applications  were 
made  within  sixty  days.  The  resistance  of  the  refractory 
local  unions  then  broke  down,  local  amnesties  were  offered 
almost  universally  and  an  immediate  increase  in  member- 
ship took  place.^^ 

The  last  half  of  the  eighties  also  proved  a  difficult  time 
for  the  Molders.  Membership  was  at  a  low  ebb  and  sus- 
pensions and  expulsions  took  place  with  great  frequency. 
In  order  to  save  the  situation  the  convention  of  1886  advised 
local  unions  to  grant  amnesties  to  suspended  members  for  a 
lerm  of  six  months  and  also  urged  that  they  "  be  as  lenient 
-as  possible  in  the  amount  they  shall  pay  for  reinstate- 
ment."^^ A  general  amnesty,  however,  was  held  to  be  in- 
advisable at  the  time.  Until  the  end  of  the  panic  of  1893, 
local  amnesties  were  frequent.  The  panic  years  threw 
about  two  thirds  of  the  membership  out  of  employment. 
Conditions  became  so  bad  that  at  the  1895  convention  a  gen- 
eral amnesty,  to  last  until  January  i,  1896,  was  declared. 

20  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  August,  1876,  p.  68. 

21  Ibid.,  October,  1878,  p.  49. 

22  Proceedings,  1886,  p.  27. 


457]  MEMBERSHIP  69 

All  members  in  difficulty  with  the  union,  except  those  ex- 
pelled for  defrauding  the  organization,  were  ordered  rein- 
stated upon  payment  of  three  dollars,  the  equivalent  of  twelve 
weeks'  dues. 

Since  1895  no  general  amnesty  has  been  granted.  How- 
ever, when  the  fight  with  the  National  Founders'  Associa- 
tion began  in  1904,  the  executive  board  recommended  that 
machinery-molders'  unions  reinstate  suspended  members,  ex- 
cept embezzlers,  until  July  31, 1905,  for  $5.50.  By  this  plan  it 
was  hoped  to  keep  the  Founders  from  capturing  suspended 
members  and  persuading  them  by  means  of  liberal  wages  to 
act  as  strike  breakers.  The  Molders  have  had  no  occasion  for 
amnesties  during  the  past  fifteen  years  for  several  reasons. 
In  the  first  place  strengthened  beneficial  features  have  made 
membership  much  more  desirable  than  it  once  was.  Again, 
out-of-work  benefits  for  thirteen  weeks,  plus  the  right  to  an 
honorary  card  at  the  expiration  of  that  period,  now  seem 
to  make  suspension  entirely  unnecessary  so  far  as  the  pay- 
ment of  dues  is  concerned.  Thirdly,  whenever  for  any 
cause  suspensions  or  expulsions  have  occurred,  the  union 
has  been  strong  enough  to  compel  delinquents  to  secure  rein- 
statement by  settlement  in  full. 


CHAPTER  VI 

Finance 

The  International  Union. — (a)  Revenue.  The  first 
revenues  of  the  union  were  raised  in  a  very  simple  way. 
Each  affiliated  union  was  required  to  pay  ten  dollars  an- 
nually and,  in  addition,  was  assessed  a  similar  amount  for 
each  delegate  allowed  at  the  general  convention.  In  i860 
a  more  equitable  plan  was  established  under  which  each 
local  union  was  required  to  pay  a  per  capita  tax  of  five  cents 
per  month.  As  the  union  grew,  more  revenue  was  needed. 
Accordingly,  the  1865  convention  voted  to  levy  a  semi-an- 
nual tax  of  two  dollars  per  member.  In  1867  additional 
financial  needs  led  to  the  imposition  of  a  per  capita  of  fifty 
cents  per  month.  The  next  year  this  levy  was  reduced 
to  twenty-five  cents.  In  1890  dues  were  increased  to  forty 
cents  per  month  so  that  they  might  "  cover  all  expenses." 
The  receipts  were  to  be  apportioned  to  "  funds  "  as  follows : 
to  the  benefit  fund,  sixteen  per  cent ;  to  the  monthly  or  gen- 
eral fund,  twenty-six  per  cent;  to  the  strike  fund,  fifty- 
eight  per  cent.  In  case  of  emergency  the  executive  board 
was  empowered  to  draw  on  one  fund  for  the  advantage 
of  another. 

The  International  Union  has  always  obtained  extraordinary 
revenue  by  the  imposition  of  assessments  collected  through 
the  local  unions.  In  1863  the  constitution  provided  that 
deficiencies  might  be  met  by  a  "  pro  rata  assessment  levied 
on  the  average  wages  of  each  subordinate  union."  ^  Since 
local  unions  proved  dilatory  in  forwarding  their  assessments, 
the  1864  convention  created  a  contingent  fund  for  strike 
purposes  by  the  levy  of  a  five  per  cent  tax  on  wages  during 
the  months  of  September  and  October  of  that  year.  By 
having  money  on  hand  the  union  felt  that  it  would  be  in  a 

^  Constitution,  1863,  art.  6,  sec.  i. 

70 


459]  FINANCE  71 

better  position  to  conduct  disputes  with  employers.  Three 
years  later  this  plan  was  abandoned  as  inadequate,  and  the 
president,  with  the  consent  of  the  majority  of  the  corres- 
ponding representatives,  was  allowed  to  levy  an  assessment 
upon  local  members  at  any  time,  provided  it  did  not  exceed 
five  per  cent  of  the  wages  earned.  By  1876  the  maximum 
of  five  per  cent  on  earnings  was  dropped.  In  sending  out 
a  strike  circular  the  president  of  the  general  union  was  to 
"  prepare  a  statement,  to  be  appended  thereto,  of  the  exact 
amount  of  money  that  will  be  required  weekly  from  each 
union  to  sustain  the  said  strike."  ^  In  1882  it  was  again 
deemed  advisable  to  create  a  strike  fund  by  the  levy  of 
one  dollar  for  each  member,  to  be  collected  as  the  local 
unions  desired.  The  next  convention,  however,  reverted  to 
the  old  plan  of  irregular  levies  imposed  by  the  executive 
board.  A  limit  of  one  dollar  per  quarter  was  placed  upon 
the  assessments,  but  in  1888  it  was  removed  as  it  was 
found  that  the  receipts  sometimes  fell  short  of  needs,  thus 
making  it  necessary  to  borrow  funds  from  the  monthly 
income  for  payment  of  strike  benefits.  The  constant 
change  in  policy  during  all  these  years  was  due  to  efforts 
to  raise  funds,  whose  amount  could  not  be  predetermined, 
with  as  little  burden  and  annoyance  as  possible. 

The  increase  in  dues  in  1890  proved  very  satisfactory. 
All  payments  to  the  International  were  consolidated  under 
one  head.  Altogether  it  was  one  of  the  notable  measures 
in  the  union's  financial  history,  and  it  came  at  a  time 
when  the  organization  was  stable  enough  to  afford  benefits 
commensurate  with  the  higher  payments  required  of  mem- 
bers. After  experience  had  shown  the  benefits  of  consoli- 
dated and  increased  dues,  the  Molders  in  1895  inaugurated 
their  "  high-dues  policy "  by  the  imposition  of  a  levy  of 
twenty-five  cents  per  week  per  capita,  about  double  the 
previous  average  dues,  local  and  international  combined. 
Prior  to  this  time  local  dues  had  been  left  to  local  deter- 

2  Ibid.,  1876,  art.  6,  sec.  3. 


72  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [46O 

mination,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  general  president. 
The  legislation  of  1895,  however,  fixed  the  local  as  well 
as  the  international  dues.  Here  again  the  interests  of 
simplicity  and  convenience  were  served  and  "the  trade 
union  doctrine  of  equal  benefits  for  equal  dues "  was  ef- 
fectively put  into  practice.  The  new  dues,  like  those  of 
1890,  were  divided  into  several  funds.  Ten  cents  was  to 
be  forwarded  to  the  international  treasurer  who  was  to 
apportion  sixteen  per  cent  of  the  sum  to  the  death-and- 
disability-benefit  fund,  twenty-six  per  cent  to  the  monthly 
fund,  and  fifty-eight  per  cent  to  the  strike  fund.  Fifteen 
cents  was  left  in  the  care  of  the  local  unions.  Eight  cents 
of  this  amount  was  to  be  held  in  trust  for  sick-benefit  pay- 
ments, and  seven  cents  was  to  go  into  the  local  treasuries. 
Strengthened  beneficial  features  and  increasing  emphasis 
upon  militant  unionism  were  the  two  causes  for  the  high- 
dues  policy. 

The  fight  with  the  National  Founders'  Association  and 
the  needs  of  the  conference  boards  after  1902  entailed 
such  large  expenditures  that  the  executive  board  was  com- 
pelled to  resort  to  large  and  frequent  special  assessments. 
A  demand  for  increased  dues  was  at  once  created  by  the 
shortage  of  funds.  Local  unions  everywhere  were  pushing 
grievances,  strikes  abounded,  and  the  whole  organization 
proved  intent  upon  fighting  vigorously  against  hostile  groups 
of  employers.  Since  special  assessments  were  as  unpopular 
as  ever,  the  1907  convention  met  the  situation  by  making 
the  dues  forty  cents  per  week.  Death  and  disability  bene- 
fits, strike  benefits  and  administrative  expenditure  were 
awarded  twenty-three  cents ;  sick  and  out-of-work  bene- 
fits, eight  cents;  local  unions,  nine  cents.  In  March,  1917. 
by  referendum  vote  dues  were  advanced  to  fifty  cents  per 
week  in  order  to  increase  strike  benefits  to  $9  per  week. 
Later,  in  191 7  dues  were  raised  to  sixty  cents  per  week 
in  order  to  give  better  support  to  movements  for  shorter 
hours  and  for  wage  increases.     Thirty-six  cents  was  given 


46l]  FINANCE  73 

to  the  headquarters'  fund,  eleven  cents  to  the  benefit  fund, 
and  thirteen  cents  to  the  local  fund.^ 

It  has  well  been  said  that  the  Holders'  progress  "can 
be  measured  in  a  large  degree  by  the  changes  in  their 
financial  system.  They  were  weak  when  their  dues  were 
low.  .  .  .  They  set  their  feet  upon  a  solid  foundation  only 
when  they  determined  to  pay  sufficient  dues  "  to  pay  strike 
benefits  to  every  striker  and  to  develop  their  beneficial 
features  to  a  point  where  membership  was  made  attractive.* 
Their  position  as  one  of  the  leading  "  high-dues  "  unions 
enables  them  to  enjoy  first  class  leadership,  effective  organ- 
izing agencies,  up-to-date  business  methods,  and  able  legal 
defense. 

The  initiation  fee  charged  by  local  unions  varied  from 
fifty  cents  to  $6  in  different  unions  until  1867,  when  it  was 
made  $5  throughout  the  union.  In  1878  the  fee  was  re- 
duced to  $3,  but  in  1895  it  was  reestablished  at  $5,  where  it 
still  remains.  Two  dollars  out  of  the  fee  is  forwarded  to 
the  international  treasurer  while  the  remainder  goes  to  the 
local  funds. 

Minor  sources  of  income  are  found  in  a  charter  fee  of 
$5  exacted  from  new  local  unions,  and  receipts  from  fines, 
the  sale  of  supplies,  subscriptions,  and  advertisements 
placed  in  the  official  journal.  Union  cards  were  once  sold 
to  local  unions,  but  they  are  now  supplied  gratuitously. 

The  receipts  of  the  International  Union  from  i860  to 
1917  are  shown  in  the  following  table:  ^ 

3  It  should  be  noted  that  in  1907  the  union  gave  up  the  policy 
of  dividing  the  receipts  at  headquarters  into  three  funds — death 
and  disability,  strike,  and  monthly — and  simply  lumped  everything 
into  one  account,  thereby  saving  a  considerable  amount  of  book- 
keeping. The  separate  funds  in  reality  meant  very  little  as  the 
trustees  were  constantly  transferring  money  from  one  to  the  other. 

*  International  Holders'  Journal,  April,   1915,  p.  281. 

5  For  the  figures  from  i860  to  1902  in  this  table  and  in  others 
following,  the  writer  is  partly  indebted  to  Sakolski,  "  The  Finances 
of  the  Iron  Holders'  Union,"  in  Hollander  and  Barnett,  Studies  in 
American  Trade  Unionism,  pp.  83-107. 


74  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [462 

Years  Receipts  Average  per  Year 

i860        $        6,125.06  $     6,125.06 

1861        1,605.14  1,605.14 

1862        

1863        17,668.35  17,668.35 

1864      5,257-97  5,257-97 

1865       14,659.44  14,659.44 

1866      44,646.71  44,646.71 

1866-68 48,977.75  24,888.88 

1868-70 28,78049  14,390.24 

1870-72 48,254.94  24,127.47 

1872-74 41,967.78  20,983.89 

1874-76 48,279.13  24,139.56 

1876-78 37,801.17  18,900.58 

1878-82 79,625.00  26,542.00 

1882-84 83,206.19  41,603.09 

1884-86 82,842.42  41,421.21 

1886-88 102,395.69  51,197.84 

1888-90 142,753-77  71,376.88 

1890-95 370,280.84  74,058.16 

1895-99 525,709.72  131,427.48 

1899-02 902,573.92  300,857.97 

1902-07 1,477,024.96  295,404.99 

1907-12 2,522,350.89  504,470.18 

1912-17 2,974,292.77  594,858.55 

(b)  Expenditures.  Strike  disbursements  in  the  Molders' 
Union  for  twenty  years  have  been  "larger  than  those  of  any 
similar  organization,  and  have  at  times  amounted  to  more 
than  three  fourths  of  its  total  revenue."^  In  this  way  the 
union  in  1913,  for  example,  spent  on  strikes  a  sum  exceeded 
by  only  one  other  union,  the  United  Mine  Workers.'^  In 
the  early  years  of  the  union  strike  expenditure  exhibited 
considerable  variation  in  volume.  Frequently  the  stronger 
local  unions  went  out  on  unauthorized  strikes  and  in  that 
way  cut  themselves  oflf  from  strike  pay.  Since  about  1882 
the  stoppage  of  independent  strikes  and  the  growth  in  terri- 
torial jurisdiction  and  membership  have  caused  a  continually 
increasing  strike  expenditure  by  the  International  Union.  In 
certain  years,  however,  extra  large  sums  have  been  expended 
in  fighting  hostile  employers'  associations.  For  example, 
in  1900  a  strike  against  the  Cleveland  branch  of  the  National 

^  Sakolski,  p.  87.  For  a  discussion  of  expenditure  for  beneficial 
features,  see  chap.  vii. 

''The  Molders  paid  out  $459,722.48;  the  Miners,  $1,200,796.93. 


463]  FINANCE  75 

Founders'  Association,  which  lasted  eleven  months,  involved 
strike  payments  amounting  to  $104,630.  During  the  years 
1902-1907,  when  conflict  with  the  Association  became  gen- 
eral, the  union  was  forced  to  raise  by  assessment  the  sum 
of  $408,148.95  to  supplement  its  regular  defense  funds. 
Recent  movements  for  increased  wages,  shorter  hours,  and 
recognition  of  the  union  have  been  responsible  for  most  of 
the  large  amounts  spent  for  militant  purposes.  As  far  as 
possible  the  Holders  now  endeavor  to  be  an  offensive, 
rather  than  a  defensive,  body.  Since  1891,  when  the  agree- 
ment with  the  Stove  Founders'  National  Defense  Associa- 
tion went  into  effect,  all  strike  expenditure  in  the  stove 
branch  has  been  confined  to  disputes  with  shops  independent 
of  the  Association. 

The  following  table  shows  what  has  been  spent  for 
strikes  out  of  the  general  treasury.  Local  expenditures 
have  never  been  reported  in  full. 

Years  Cost  Yearly  Average 

i860       $        s,iii.6o  $     s,iii.6o 

1861        1,115.00  1,115.00 

1862        

1863        10,329.89  10,329.89 

1864        17,260.00  17,260.00 

1865        6,000.00 '  6,000.00 ' 

1866        25,000.00 '  25,000.00  * 

1866-68 9,500.00  4,750.00 

1868-70 5,350.00  2,675.00 

1870-72 32,209.78  16,104.89 

1872-74 20,788.82  10,394.41 

1874-76 16,117.46  8.058.73 

1876-78 15,568.65  7,784.32 

1878-82 19,894.63  4.973-65 

1882-86 56,343.53  14,085.88 

1886-88 33,883.54  16,941.77 

1888-90 67,964.32  33,982.16 

1890-95 209,967.52  41,994.38 

1895-99 175,704.49  43,926.12 

1899-02 334,113.68  111,371.22 

1902-07 1,477,173.46  295,434.69 

1907-12 1,176,548.11  233,309.62 

I912-I7 1,723,287.51  344,657.50 

The  most  important  item  in  the  group  of  administrative 
"  Approximate. 


76  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [464 

expenditures  has  been  the  cost  of  organizing.  It  includes 
the  salaries  and  expenses  of  the  officials  engaged  in  organiz- 
ing locals  and  in  settling  trade  disputes.  "  In  the  early- 
days  the  revenues  of  the  .  .  .  union  were  too  much  limited 
to  permit  extended  activities  of  this  kind.  Whatever  was 
accomplished  was  done  either  voluntarily  by  local  leaders 
or  by  the  president  of  the  National  Union  largely  at  his 
own  expense."  ®  For  example,  in  1863  President  Sylvis 
was  compelled  to  finance  his  famous  organizing  trip  by 
soliciting  donations  from  local  unions  as  he  went  along. 
In  1864  the  convention  made  Sylvis  a  grant  of  $350  in 
payment  of  his  services  during  the  preceding  year  and  also 
voted  the  president  a  future  salary  of  $600  with  travelling 
expenses.  By  gradual  stages  the  president's  salary  has 
been  increased  to  the  present  amount  of  $3,750.  Vice- 
presidents  received  only  the  pay  due  them  as  members  of 
the  executive  board  down  to  1888,  when  the  one  vice- 
president  then  provided  for  was  made  assistant  organizer 
and  granted  a  salary  of  $1,000  per  annum  with  travelling 
expenses.  The  first  vice-president  now  receives  $2,750 
and  his  six  associates  receive  $2,400  per  year,  with  expenses. 
Owing  to  their  extensive  and  frequent  trips  the  expenses 
of  the  vice-presidents  have  constituted  a  notable  item  since 
the  early  nineties.  Special  organizers  have  had  their 
compensation  fixed  from  time  to  time  by  the  executive 
board. 

The  Holders  consider  that  the  costs  of  organizing  are 
reproductive  expenditures.     Sakolski  says : 

It  is  _  estimated  that  the  increase  in  membership  resulting  from 
organizing  efforts  not  only  adds  to  the  efficiency  of  collective  bar- 
gaining on  the  part  of  the  Union,  but  actually  strengthens  its  finan- 
cial resources  in  that  the  dues  paid  by  the  new  members  soon  ex- 
ceed the  expense  entailed  in  organizing  them.  Moreover,  the  serv- 
ices of  the  organizers  in  settling  trade  disputes  and  in  arranging 
conferences  with  employers  prevent  wasteful  expenditure  for 
strikes." 

The  following  table  shows  the  cost  of  maintaining  the 
organizing  staff  since  1899: 

8  Sakolski,  p.  96. 
^  Ibid.,  p.  97. 


465] 


FINANCE 


77 


I 899- I 902 


1902-1907 


1907-1912      1912-1917 


President 

Vice-Presidents 

Special  organizers .  .  . 
Miscellaneous  organ- 
izing expenses 


$  6,000.00 
32,473.65 
10,039.79 


$18,275.00 
66,775.00 
39,605.10 

9.364-31 


i522, 500.00 
74,700.00 
60,392.68 

18,463.06 


$  23,800.00 

135,580.52 

42,871.82 

10,845.77 


The  cost  of  office  management  has  never  been  heavy  as 
compared  with  the  volume  of  business  transacted.  The 
salaries  of  the  officials  and  clerks  have  been  comparatively 
small.  The  first  officer  after  the  president  to  be  granted 
a  salary  was  the  treasurer  who,  in  1866,  was  awarded  $300 
per  year,  with  travelling  expenses.  His  present  pay  is 
$2,230.40.  The  secretary  and  his  assistant  were  paid  $6 
per  day  during  conventions,  beginning  with  1867.  At  pres- 
ent they  receive  $2,500  and  $2,230.40  per  year,  respectively. 
The  office  of  financier,  when  created  in  1895,  carried  with 
it  $1,000  per  year.  Now  it  yields  $2,500.  The  assistant 
financier  is  paid  $2,230.40,  In  1895  the  editor  of  the  of- 
ficial journal  was  given  but  $75  per  month.  The  present  sal- 
ary is  $2,500  per  year.  These  officers  are  all  entitled  to 
convention  mileage  and  a  fixed  daily  amount  for  expenses. 
The  executive  board  members,  who  were  granted  mileage 
and  $3  per  day  in  1878,  now  obtain  $25  per  quarter  and 
$6  per  day  while  engaged  upon  their  duties,  plus  mileage 
and  hotel  expenses.  The  expenditure  for  the  executive 
board  has  been  steadily  growing  with  the  greater  frequency 
and  length  of  board  meetings.  The  average  annual  cost 
for  the  term  1912-1917  was  $3,719.35. 

The  largest  items  included  under  office  expenditures  are 
those  of  printing,  stationery,  and  postage.  During  the 
term  1907-1912  these  items  required  the  expenditure  of 
over  $90,000  out  of  the  $153,986.06  devoted  to  office  use. 
An  enormous  amount  of  printing  and  correspondence  is  in- 
volved.    In  this  connection,  Sakolski  states: 

Besides  the  quarterly  reports,  circular  returns,  remittance  blanks, 
voting  papers,  and  numerous  other  printed  papers,  circulars,  and 
reports,  all  of  which  must  be  sent  to  the  officers  of  every  local 
and  by  them  submitted  to  the  members,  there  is  the  printing  and 


78 


THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION 


[466 


distribution  of  constitutions,  executive  board  conferences  and  con- 
vention proceedings,  entailing  a  correspondingly  heavy  expenditure 
for  postage  and  expressage.^*' 

The  cost  of  printing  and  publishing  the  official  journal  is  at 
present  only  partly  met  by  the  general  union.  Since  1894 
members  subscribing  to  that  publication  have  been  required 
to  pay  a  nominal  price  of  tw^enty-five  cents  per  year.  The 
net  cost  of  the  journal  since  1896  has  ranged  from  $2,000 
to  $10,000  per  annum.  Subscriptions  and  advertisements 
now  return  about  fifty  per  cent  of  the  expense  of  the  publi- 
cation. 

From  the  outset  the  general  organization  has  paid  mile- 
age and  a  per  diem  to  all  convention  delegates.  On  several 
occasions  the  heavy  expense  for  conventions  "  has  brought 
the  organization  to  the  verge  of  bankruptcy."  The  interval 
between  conventions  was  increased  in  1866,  in  1878,  and 
again  in  1890,  largely  for  purpose  of  economy.  Part  of  the 
expense  of  conventions  has  been  due  to  the  protracted 
sessions.  Efforts  have  been  made  to  reduce  their  length, 
but  with  little  success.  As  the  union  has  increased  in  size 
the  representation  of  local  unions  has  also  been  decreased 
in  the  endeavor  to  cut  expenses. 

The  following  table  shows  the  expenses  of  each  general 
convention  since  1874: 


Number 

Days 

Cost  in 

Date 

of 

in 

Mileage  and 

Delegates 

Session 

per  Diem 

1874 

87 

9 

$  5.609.03 

1876 

78 

9 

3,844.60 

1878 

54 

9 

2,926.35 

1879 

28 

4 

797.20 

1882 

153 

II 

11,479.08 

1886 

249 

II 

10,539.18 

1888 

271 

10 

13,664.27 

1890 

108 

10 

17.143-36 

1895 

312 

13 

14,005.00 

1899 

311 

14 

24,019.68 

1902 

385 

20 

50,670.72 

1907 

468 

19 

45,563.79 

1912 

397 

19 

47,553-73 

1917 

415 

19 

55,725-09 

10  Ibid., 


467]  FINANCE  79 

Per  capita  taxes  and  assessments  paid  to  the  American 
Federation  of  Labor,  tiie  Metal  Trades  Department  of  the 
Federation,  the  Canadian  Labor  Congress,  and  the  Union 
Label  League,  together  with  the  expenses  of  delegates  to 
the  first  three  organizations,  totaled  $38,628.29  for  the  term 
of  1912-1917.  Conference  meetings  with  the  Stove  Found- 
ers' National  Defense  Association  for  the  same  term  re- 
quired $3,645.13  and  conferences  with  local  employers  cost 
$5,886.14.  Conference  boards  of  local  unions  have  drawn 
rather  heavily  upon  the  general  union  within  recent  years. 

Litigation  has  recently  become  an  important  item  in  ex- 
penditure. Prior  to  1899  the  organization  spent  but  little 
money  in  this  manner.  "  In  fact,  from  1890  to  1895,  the 
single  recorded  item  was  fifty  dollars  for  attorney's  fees, 
and  in  the  four  years  following  the  total  expenditure  was 
only  $187.36.  More  recently,  however,  the  resort  of  em- 
ployers to  the  use  of  the  injunction  against  striking  iron 
molders  has  led  to  larger  expenditures."  ^^  The  union  at 
present  does  not  always  stand  on  the  defense.  In  a  number 
of  recent  instances  it  has  brought  suit  for  damages  against 
foundry  firms  on  the  ground  of  conspiracy.  The  expenses 
for  litigation  since  1899  have  been  as  follows:  1899-1902, 
$5,147.86;  1902-1907,  $7,363-59;  1907-1912,  $15,788.32; 
1912-1917,  $30,979.42.  These  amounts  include  what  the 
International  Union  has  spent  directly  and  the  sums  ad- 
vanced to  local  unions. 

(c)  Financial  Administration.  A  large  part  of  the  Hold- 
ers' success  in  securing  financial  stability  may  be  attributed 
to  their  system  of  fiscal  administration.  In  the  early  years 
of  organization  a  "  crude  and  defective  procedure "  was 
followed,  but  at  the  present  time  a  "  highly  efficient  system 
of  financial  control "  obtains.  The  first  administrative  pro- 
visions were  extremely  simple.  The  president  drew  all 
orders  upon  the  treasurer  for  the  payment  of  moneys 
legally  expended.  Here  his  responsibilities  ceased  and  the 
detailed  care  of  finance  was  left  to  the  treasurer.     In  1886 

11  Ibid.,  p.  100. 


80  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [468 

the  growth  of  the  organization  necessitated  the  employment 
of  a  salaried  financial  secretary  whose  duty  it  is  to  keep  a 
regular  book  account  of  all  transactions  between  the  central 
ofifice  and  the  local  unions  and  to  publish  at  regular  inter- 
vals full  financial  statements.  Money  received  by  the  sec- 
retary from  local  unions  is  now  transferred  to  the  treas- 
urer, excepting  a  small  amount  allowed  for  office  expenses. 
The  president  countersigns  all  orders  drawn  by  the  sec- 
retary on  the  treasurer.     According  to  Sakolski: 

The  inauguration  of  the  sick  benefit  in  1895  led  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  an  additional  fiscal  officer,  known  as  the  financier,  charged 
with  the  special  duties  of  keeping  record  of  the  standing  of  indi- 
vidual members,  the  amount  of  tax  paid  by  each  local  union,  and 
the  condition  of  the  sick-benefit  funds.  He  received  from  the  local 
financial  secretaries  and  correspondents  regular  monthly  reports, 
giving  the  names  of  all  members  paying  dues,  the  amount  of  sick 
benefits  paid  to  each,  and  the  condition  of  the  local  sick-benefit 
fund." 

The  financier,  as  supervisor  of  the  finances  of  the  local 
unions,  soon  proved  his  value  as  a  check  upon  abuse  of 
the  beneficiary  system,  because  he  had  all  the  local-union 
figures  before  him  and  could  easily  detect  and  investigate 
abnormal  benefit  payments  that  savored  of  fraud. 

Financial  officers  have  been  placed  under  bond  with 
reputable  bonding  companies  and  have  not  been  allowed  to 
hold  sums  of  money  in  excess  of  specified  amounts.  The 
treasurer  is  required  to  place  the  reserve  funds  in  the  custody 
of  the  trustees  who  are  joint  guardians  of  all  accumulated 
balances.  The  trustees  must  deposit  their  funds  in  some 
accredited  bank  in  their  own  names  and  in  that  of  the  in- 
ternational president  in  order  to  reduce  the  liability  to  mis- 
appropriation. The  bonding  of  local-union  officers  was  left 
entirely  to  the  subordinate  bodies  until  1907,  except  that  two 
of  the  special  agents  handling  strike  funds,  the  receiver  and 
the  paymaster,  were  made  to  give  bonds  in  amount  accept- 
able to  the  general  president.  Gradually  it  became  custom- 
ary for  local  unions  to  require  sureties  for  other  fiscal  of- 
ficers, and  in   1907  the  convention  ordered  all  local  cor- 

12  Ibid.,  p.  102. 


469]  FINANCE  81 

responding  secretaries,  financial  secretaries,  and  treasurers 
to  be  bonded  for  sums  not  less  than  $250.  Most  of  the 
business  of  bonding  local  officers  was  done  by  surety  com- 
panies until  1907  when  the  International  Union  decided  to 
bond  such  officers  on  its  own  account.  To  this  end  it  or- 
ganized a  Fidelity  Department  under  the  administration  of 
the  financier.  Rates  for  bonding  were  fixed  according  to 
the  size  of  the  bonds  and  the  membership  of  the  local  unions. 
Bonds  were  to  be  issued  only  when  local  unions  complied 
strictly  with  the  constitutional  provisions  relating  to  the 
audit  of  their  accounts.  If  any  union  should  refuse  or 
neglect  to  comply  with  the  rules  in  this  respect  after  being 
notified  by  the  financier,  the  bonds  of  the  officers  were  to 
be  cancelled.  In  this  way  the  bonding  system  was  made  the 
capstone  of  the  auditing  system.  All  receipts  from  bond- 
ing were  ordered  placed  in  a  separate  fidelity  fund,  from 
which,  in  turn,  all  expenses  of  the  Department  were  to  be 
paid.^^  For  the  term  1912-1917  the  receipts  of  the  Fidelity 
Department,  including  the  balance  carried  forward  and 
interest,  were  $35,658.11  and  its  expenses  were  $14,961.21, 
leaving  a  favorable  balance  of  $20,696.90.  The  Depart- 
ment has  been  successful  in  providing  cheap  bonding  rates, 
in  reducing  red  tape,  and  in  eliminating  cases  of  embezzle- 
ment. 

The  convention  of  1859  ordered  that  the  treasurer  should 
make  an  annual  report,  which  was  to  be  submitted  to  an 
auditing  committee  by  the  convention  receiving  it.  When 
the  board  of  trustees  was  created  in  1882  it  was  given  power 
to  require  full  details  from  the  president  and  treasurer  con- 
cerning their  financial  transactions,  and  it  could  order  them 
to  publish  financial  statements,  individually  or  jointly, 
through  the  official  journal.  In  1879  the  convention  gave 
the  board  power  to  appoint  an  auditing  committee  from  the 
union  or  unions  in  the  vicinity  of  the  executive  office  to 
examine  and  report  on  the  president's  books  every  six 
months  and  to  look  into  the  accounts  of  other  financial  of- 

13  Constitution,  1912,  art.  12. 
6 


82  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [47O 

ficers,  if  the  board  so  desired.  Since  191 2  one  auditor 
each  has  been  selected  by  the  four  local  unions  nearest  inter- 
national headquarters  to  go  over  all  financial  accounts.  An 
even  more  effective  means  than  auditing  for  discovering 
discrepancies  in  the  accounts  of  general  officers  has  been  the 
requirement  that  both  the  secretary  and  the  treasurer  issue 
simultaneously  quarterly  reports  containing  itemized  state- 
ments of  the  accounts  of  the  local  unions  with  headquarters 
and  further  detailed  financial  information. 

For  many  years  the  local  unions  were  very  careless  about 
remitting  per  capita  taxes  and  assessments  to  the  Interna- 
tional. "  Besides  the  acknowledged  arrearages  there  was 
considerable  outright  evasion  of  the  per  capita  tax  by  the 
local  unions,  the  president  reporting  in  1895  that  *  from 
careful  calculation,'  he  'had  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
less  than  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  per  capita  tax  reached 
the  coffers  of  the  national  organization.' "  ^*  When  a 
system  of  uniform  dues  and  benefits  was  established  in 
1895,  "  sufficient  control  was  acquired  over  the  local  funds 
to  insure  the  financial  solidarity  of  the  organization.  To 
minimize  losses  a  plan  of  collecting  union  revenue,  described 
as  the  'stamp  receipt  system,'  was  instituted  .  .  .  and  is 
now  in  force.  According  to  this  plan,  each  local  union  in 
return  for  the  per  capita  tax  remitted  .  .  .  ,  receives  from 
the  general  secretary  an  equal  amount  in  stamp  receipts. 
These  stamp  receipts  are  affixed  to  the  members'  books  upon 
the  payment  of  dues,  and  no  member  is  considered  in  good 
standing  unless  he  can  show,  for  the  period  covered,  the 
requisite  number  of  stamps  properly  dated  and  cancelled. 
Since  no  other  form  of  receipt  is  recognized  .  .  .  ,  and  re- 
mittances must  accompany  orders  for  stamps,  the  local 
unions  have  little  opportunity  to  evade  their  share  of  the 
per  capita  tax  or  benefit  assessments."^^ 

The  corresponding  secretary  in  each  local  union  is 
"employed  to  secure  efficient  fiscal  relations"  between  the 

1*  Sakolski,  p.  105. 
15  Ibid.,  pp.  105-106. 


47l]  FINANCE  83 

International  and  his  union  by  acting  as  the  fiscal  agent  of 
the  former.  He  sends  all  local  remittances  to  the  general 
treasurer  and  acts  as  the  receiver  of  all  funds  sent  to  the 
local  unions  for  strikes  or  other  purposes.  Benefit  has  also 
been  derived  from  the  introduction  of  uniform  methods  of 
bookkeeping  in  the  local  branches.  In  1907  each  local 
union  was  required  to  elect  a  board  of  auditors  whose  find- 
ings were  to  be  returned  to  the  financier's  office  where  they 
were  to  be  checked  up  against  figures  in  that  officer's 
possession. 

Conference  Boards. — The  chief  revenue  of  the  con- 
ference boards  has  been  obtained  from  per  capita  taxes, 
varying  in  amount  from  five  to  twenty  cents  per  month, 
levied  upon  the  membership  of  affiliated  local  unions.  Not 
long  after  the  formation  of  the  different  boards  their  work 
increased  to  such  a  degree  that  this  tax  provided  insufficient 
revenue.  The  services  of  the  boards  were  so  valuable  that 
the  International  Union  decided  to  grant  them  from  $6  to 
$10  per  week  for  stated  brief  periods.  In  1899  a  general 
allowance  of  two  cents  per  member  per  month  was  granted 
all  boards  that  were  already  doing  as  much  for  themselves 
as  could  be  expected.  In  1907  three  cents  was  paid;  in 
1912,  five  cents.  Since  1907  the  International  has  also 
granted  in  special  cases  "  such  other  sums "  as  have  been 
"  found  necessary."  Conference  boards  have  always  ob- 
tained most  of  their  receipts  from  their  own  taxes.  For 
example,  during  the  term  ending  June  30,  1917,  local  unions 
paid  to  the  boards  $210,289.93,  or  twice  the  amount  obtained 
from  the  International.  The  expenditures  of  conference 
boards  have  consisted  chiefly  of  the  salaries  and  expenses 
of  business  agents,  office  rent,  and  stationery.  The  fol- 
lowing table  shows  the  amount  of  subsidies  paid  by  the 
International  Union  to  conference  boards  from  1895  to 
1917: 

Years  Amount  Yearly  Average 

1895-1899 $        833.15  $      208.29 

1899-1902 5,100.28  1,700.09 

1902-1907 35,435-10  7,087.02 

1907-1912 69,716.58  13.943-32 

1912-1917 101,157.97  21,031.59 


84  THE  INTERNATIONAL  MOLDERS  UNION  [472 

Local  Unions. — Since  1895  local  unions  have  obtained  the 
bulk  of  their  revenue  from  their  share  of  the  regular  per 
capita  taxes.  Minor  receipts  have  been  derived  from  fines 
and  rather  infrequent  special  assessments.  Local  expend- 
itures were  formerly  largely  for  strikes  and  lockouts.  At 
present  local  unions  depend  chiefly  upon  international 
support  to  finance  trade  difficulties,  yet  they  may  draw  upon 
their  own  funds  or  solicit  contributions  from  other  local 
unions  to  supplement  the  general  strike  benefits.  The 
greater  part,  however,  of  the  revenues  of  the  local  unions 
is  expended  for  officers'  salaries,  hall  rent  and  printing. 


CHAPTER  VII 

Mutual  Insurance 

Death  and  Disability  Benefits  for  Active  Members. — The 
early  molders'  unions  in  a  few  instances  paid  small  death  or 
funeral  benefits.  In  some  cases,  as  with  the  New  York 
union  formed  in  1849,  payment  of  the  benefits  was  put 
forth  as  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  organization.  The 
question  of  establishing  some  kind  of  a  "  benevolent  fund 
in  connection  with  the  local  unions  "  first  came  before  the 
general  convention  in  1861.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  many 
subjects  of  more  fundamental  importance  confronted  the 
young  organization  at  that  time,  the  matter  was  laid  upon 
the  table.  However,  several  unions  proceeded  to  act  upon 
their  own  initiative  and  instituted  death  benefit  systems. 
In  1864  proposals  were  made  for  a  "  national  benefit 
feature  "  but  the  convention  felt  that  it  would  be  unwise  to 
enter  upon  the  unknown  seas  of  mutual  insurance  until  the 
local  unions  had  been  given  more  time  to  experiment.  At 
several  conventions  the  question  was  reopened  but  it  was 
not  until  1870  that  favorable  action  resulted.  By  this  time 
it  had  become  evident  that  there  were  important  advantages 
in  paying  benefits  through  the  general  union  instead  of 
through  local  unions.  In  some  cases  membership  in  local 
beneficiary  systems  was  compulsory.  Travelling  members 
complained  that  it  was  unfair  to  force  them  to  pay  benefi- 
ciary fees  while  they  belonged  to  certain  local  unions  and 
then  to  deny  them  any  right  to  benefits  when  they  moved 
to  other  jurisdictions.  In  order  to  eliminate  dissatisfaction 
in  this  connection  it  was  decided  to  experiment  with  a  na- 
tional benefit  plan. 

On  October  i,  1870,  the  "  Iron  Molders'  Beneficial  As- 
sociation of  North  America"  was  inaugurated  with  pro- 
visions   for   death    and    disability   benefits    for   any    union 

85 


86  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [474 

member  in  good  standing  for  a  period  of  at  least  three 
months.  Membership  in  the  Association  was  made  vol- 
untary. A  permanent  fund  was  to  be  created  by  the  pay- 
ment of  one  dollar  by  each  member  and  further  money 
was  to  be  secured  by  assessing  members  fifty  cents  on  the 
death  or  permanent  disablement  of  any  member.  Forty 
cents  out  of  each  assessment  was  to  be  set  aside  toward 
the  payment  of  the  benefit.  All  payments  were  to  be 
made  to  the  treasurer  of  the  international  union  and  the 
international  president  was  made  the  chief  administrative 
officer  of  the  Association.  As  a  result  of  this  action  the 
Holders  achieved  the  distinction  of  being  the  second  trade 
union  in  America  to  create  a  general  system  for  paying 
death  benefits,  the  first  organization  being  the  Cigar  Mak- 
ers in  1867.  The  scheme  proved  quite  successful  for  some 
time.  In  a  few  cases  local  unions  affiliated  as  a  whole. 
Assessments  were  also  "  paid  with  a  degree  of  regularity 
that  permitted  prompt  remittance  of  benefits."  Gradually, 
however,  interest  in  the  Association  declined.  Members 
complained  at  the  amount  of  the  assessments  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  they  were  getting  "the  cheapest  insurance  in  the 
world."  ^  Fewer  and  fewer  molders  joined  the  Association 
as  the  years  went  on  and  many  old  members  dropped  out. 
"  The  yield  of  the  assessment  fell  off,  and  in  1882  the  whole 
plan  was  abolished.  The  highest  membership  attained  by 
the  Association  was  twelve  hundred.  Previous  to  1874 
the  individual  claims  paid  often  amounted  to  five  hundred 
dollars."  After  that  date  the  sum  paid  on  claims  fell  as 
low  as  one  hundred  and  forty  dollars  and  the  expense  of 
administration  became  as  high  as  fifty  per  cent  of  the 
amount  of  the  benefits  paid.^  The  total  benefits  paid 
amounted  to  about  $18,000.  The  failure  of  the  Beneficial 
Association  was  caused  by  the  voluntary  character  of  the 
organization,  by  the  annoyance  occasioned  by  irregular  as- 

^  The  assessments  for  six  years  and  seven  months  following  the 
introduction  of  the  plan  amounted  to  only  $27.50. 

2  Sakolski,  pp.  90-91.  During  the  early  years  of  the  Association 
the  administrative  expenses  were  under  ten  per  cent. 


475]  MUTUAL    INSURANCE  87 

sessments,  and  by  the  lack  of  employment  growing  out  of 
the  panic  of  1873. 

Even  before  the  Association  was  abandoned  in  1882,  two 
other  plans  for  the  relief  of  distressed  members  were 
adopted.  In  1874  it  was  decided  to  pay  a  graded  super- 
annuation benefit  to  members  of  twenty  or  more  years  good 
standing  who  should  become  disabled  by  accident  or  in- 
capacitated by  age  after  August  i,  1879.  The  purposes  of 
this  measure  were  to  afford  relief  to  the  older  members  and 
to  afford  "  an  incentive  to  younger  members  to  keep  in  the 
union."  To  secure  the  initial  funds  for  the  venture  the 
president  of  the  union  was  ordered  to  invest  $i,cxx)  every 
six  months  in  United  States  six  per  cent  bonds  until  $5,000 
had  been  accumulated.^  Sentiment  soon  'favored  the 
abandonment  of  the  proposed  superannuation  feature  and 
the  substitution  of  a  funeral  benefit.  Accordingly,  in  1878 
it  was  ordered  that  the  accumulated  superannuation  funds 
be  turned  over  to  the  international  treasurer  for  investment 
in  a  sinking  fund  out  of  which  a  benefit  of  $100  was  to  be 
paid  upon  the  death  of  any  member  who  had  been  in  good 
standing  for  at  least  one  year.  Every  six  months  after 
January  i,  1879,  the  treasurer  was  to  increase  the  fund  by 
adding  to  it  twenty-five  per  cent  of  the  monthly  taxes  col- 
lected, or  seven  and  one  half  cents  per  member.'*  As  soon 
as  President  Saffin  was  called  upon  to  transfer  the  super- 
annuation fund  it  came  to  light  that  he  had  appropriated 
the  money  for  his  own  use.  For  this  offense  a  special  con- 
vention in  1879  removed  him  from  office  but  the  amount 
embezzled  was  never  recovered. 

With  the  superannuation  fund  irretrievably  lost,  the 
union  was  able  to  count  only  on  the  allotment  from  the 
monthly  taxes  as  a  means  of  securing  revenues  for  the  pay- 
ment of  benefits.  Accordingly,  no  benefits  were  paid  until 
January  i,  1880,  when  earlier  claims  also  were  met.  In 
1882  it  was  provided  that  a  benefit  of  $100  should  also  be 

3  Proceedings,  1874,  p.  76. 
*Ibid.,   1878,  p.  43. 


88  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [476 

paid  to  members  suffering  total  disability,  by  which  was 
meant  total  blindness,  the  loss  of  a  leg,  or  an  arm,  or  both. 
In  order  to  take  care  of  the  increasing  expenditures  re- 
quired under  the  larger  benefit  and  by  an  increasing  death 
rate,  the  apportionment  for  benevolent  purposes  was  in- 
creased to  thirty-five  per  cent  of  the  monthly  taxes,  or  eight 
and  three  quarters  cents  per  month  per  member.  At  sev- 
eral following  conventions  the  apportionment  was  raised 
or  lowered,  according  to  the  deficits  or  surpluses  exhibited  by 
the  fund  at  the  end  of  each  term.  At  the  1895  convention 
the  benefit  fund  was  awarded  as  subsidiary  revenue  two 
dollars  from  each  initiation  fee.  A  rapid  increase  in  the 
number  of  new  members  caused  an  extraordinary  yield 
from  this  source,  and  enabled  the  union  to  reward  faithful 
members  by  increasing  the  benefits  to  those  who  had  en- 
joyed continuous  good  standing  for  five  years  or  more. 
Consequently,  in  1899  it  was  adopted  that  graded  benefits 
should  be  paid  on  the  following  scale: 

Length  of  Memb€rship  Benefit 

I  to  5  years $100 

5  to  10  years 150 

ID  to  15  years 175 

IS  years  or  more  200 

Since  1907  when  the  union  abolished  the  system  of  sep- 
arate funds,  the  death  and  disability  benefits  have  not  had 
special  receipts  set  aside  for  their  payment,  but  have  been 
paid  from  the  amount  allotted  to  the  general  office  from 
members'  monthly  dues.  Members  who  have  received  dis- 
ability benefits  are  ineligible  for  death  benefits  and  since 
1895  they  have  been  granted  honorary  cards.  In  1890 
paralysis  was  added  to  the  afflictions  held  to  constitute  per- 
manent disability.  To  be  entitled  to  benefits  members,  at 
present,  must  not  owe  more  than  thirteen  weeks'  dues  and 
taxes  at  the  time  of  death  or  disability. 

At  the  191 7  convention  special  provision  was  made  for 
the  payment  of  death  and  disability  benefits  to  union  mem- 
bers in  the  military  and  transport  service  of  the  United 


477] 


MUTUAL    INSURANCE 


89 


States  and  Canada.  Since  the  protection  of  these  members 
was  likely  to  constitute  a  heavy  financial  drain  on  the 
treasury,  a  general  levy  of  one  dollar  per  member  was  made 
for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  special  benefit  fund.  Sub- 
sequent assessments  for  the  same  amount  were  also  au- 
thorized. During  their  period  of  service  such  members 
were  voted  exemption  from  payment  of  dues  and  assess- 
ments. A  retroactive  character  was  given  the  measure 
by  making  it  applicable  to  all  members  killed  or  disabled 
in  the  service  since  August,  1914.° 

The  following  table  shows  the  expenditure  for  death 
and  disability  benefits  since  1880.  The  aggregate  amount 
paid  has  been  exceeded  in  only  two  other  unions,  the  Car- 
penters and  the  Cigar  Makers.^ 


Death 

Disability 

Term 

Benefits 

Benefits 

Total 

1880-1882 

$    12,000.00 

$    12,000.00 

1882-1886 

31,553-52 

$      700.00 

32,253-52 

1886-1888 

16,050.50 

300.00 

16,350.50 

1888-1890 

20,564.00 

1,400.00 

21,964.00 

1890-1895 

56,172.90 

2,400.00 

58,572-90 

1895-1899 

36,899.00 

3,600.00 

40,499.00 

I 899- I 902 

70,231.38 

5,400.00 

75,631-38 

1902-1907 

259,554-86 

19,600.00 

279,154.86 

1907-1912 

274,891.09 

41,825.00 

316,716.09 

1912-1917 

334,201.42 

61,175.00 

405,376.42 

1880-1917 

1,122,118.67 

136,400.00 

1,258,518.67 

In  1910  and  1912  the  union  attempted  to  inaugurate  an 
insurance  system  along  lines  similar  to  those  prevailing  in 
the  railroad  brotherhoods  and  in  regular  insurance  com- 
panies.    Efforts    were    made    to    secure    applications    for 

5  Proceedings,  1917,  pp.  214-215. 

^  As  soon  as  the  international  system  of  death  benefits  was  well 
established,  the  local  unions  practically  abandoned  their  own  benefit 
features.  In  1882  it  was  recommended  that  they  resume  the  prac- 
tice of  paying  some  sort  of  benefits.  Accordingly,  several  strong 
unions  organized  voluntary  associations  for  paying  death  benefits 
financed  by  small  fixed  assessments  levied  on  the  occasion  of  the 
death  of  any  member.  Perhaps  ten  local  unions  have  "  endow- 
ment funds,"  as  they  are  called,  at  the  present  time. 


90  THE  INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [478 

policies  in  the  "  Molders'  Life  Insurance  Association " 
from  members  in  Ohio  where  it  was  decided  to  launch  the 
venture.  Even  though  low  premiums  were  established,  it 
proved  impossible  to  secure  enough  applications  to  perfect 
the  organizations  in  conformity  with  the  laws  of  the  State 
of  Ohio  and  it  became  necessary  to  give  up  the  project. 

Sick  Benefits  for  Active  Members. — Many  early  local 
unions  paid  some  form  of  sick  benefit  or  at  least  took  up 
collections  for  sick  members  who  were  needy.  Suggestions 
for  a  general  sick-benefit  feature  began  to  appear  about 
1865  and  by  1880  discussion  of  the  question  had  become 
general,  largely  as  a  result  of  the  fact  that  the  establish- 
ment of  sick  funds  by  local  unions  had  become  quite  com- 
mon. While  the  local  benefits  proved  of  considerable  serv- 
ice, complaints  were  made,  as  in  the  case  of  local  death  and 
disability  benefits,  that  members  of  unions  which  levied  ben- 
eficial assessments  lost  their  rights  to  relief  when  they 
transferred  to  other  .unions.  It  was  urged  that  it  would  be 
best  for  all  concerned  to  set  up  a  general  sick-benefit  system 
in  order  that  all  members  might  profit  alike.  It  was  further 
argued  that  payment  of  a  sick  benefit  would  enable  the  in- 
ternational union  not  only  to  obtain  members  but  also  to 
hold  them. 

For  a  time  an  effort  was  made  to  coordinate  the  sick- 
benefit  systems  of  local  unions.  In  1882  local  unions  were 
urged  "  to  adopt  a  sick-benefit  fund,  and  in  cases  where  a 
visiting  member  or  members  are  taken  sick  to  make  such 
provisions  in  their  by-laws  as  to  pay  the  amounts  to  which 
they  are  entitled,  and  exchange  orders  or  checks  for  the 
same,  provided  said  members  are  in  good  standing." '^ 
Nothing  was  done,  apparently,  to  carry  out  this  utterly 
impracticable  plan.  Soon  afterward  all  local  unions  were 
urged  to  adopt  uniform  systems  of  benefits  so  that  hardship 
need  no  longer  be  suffered  by  travelling  members.  It  was 
pointed  out,  however,  that  many  local  unions  had  so  few 
members  that  they  could  not  afford  to  pay  any  benefits 
whatever,  especially  when  part  of  the  men  were  idle. 

"^  Constitution,  1882,  p.  36. 


4791  MUTUAL    INSURANCE  9 1 

Constant  agitation  in  favor  of  international  sick  benefits 
finally  led  to  favorable  action  in  1895.  Provision  was  made 
for  the  payment  of  five  dollars  per  week  after  January  i, 
1896,  to  sick  and  disabled  members,  unable  to  work,  after 
the  first  week's  sickness  or  disability,  provided  such  inca- 
pacity had  not  been  caused  by  immoral  conduct.  Benefits 
were  allowed  for  thirteen  weeks  in  any  one  year,  whether 
continuous  or  not,  to  anyone  who  had  been  a  contributing 
member  for  not  less  than  six  consecutive  months  and  who 
did  not  owe  more  than  twelve  weeks'  dues.  In  order  to 
prevent  delays  and  tedious  formalities  in  administration, 
payments  were  to  be  made  directly  by  the  local  unions  from 
sick  funds  derived  from  setting  aside  eight  cents  per  week 
out  of  each  member's  dues.  An  international  officer,  known 
as  the  financier,  was  created  whose  duties  in  part  were  to 
be  concerned  with  the  administration  of  the  sick-benefit 
feature.  He  was  instructed  to  keep  account  of  the  sick- 
benefit  tax  collected  by  each  local  union  and  the  benefits 
paid  individual  members.  He  was  also  ordered  to  compute 
annually  the  average  per  capita  sick  benefits  paid  and,  with 
the  consent  of  the  general  president,  he  might  arrange  an 
equalization  of  the  sick  funds  in  the  treasuries  of  the  local 
unions  by  taking  a  surplus  from  one  local  union  and  de- 
positing it  in  another  where  an  unusual  amount  of  sickness 
had  occurred.^ 

In  order  to  expedite  transfers  of  funds,  the  executive 
board  in  June,  1896,  created  a  central  reserve,  or  a  "  sick- 
benefit  relief  fund,"  at  headquarters  to  be  maintained  by 
orders  drawn  upon  the  local  unions  having  surpluses. 
With  such  a  fund  on  hand  it  proved  an  easy  matter  to 
relieve  embarrassed  local  unions  promptly  and  to  pay  ben- 
efits as  soon  as  they  were  due."  The  apportionment  of 
eight  cents  per  week  per  member  for  maintenance  of  the 
sick-benefit  fund  soon  proved  to  be  excessive.  After  1897 
one  cent  per  week  per  member  was  set  aside  to  afford  re- 
mission of  dues  to  unemployed  members  and  sick  benefits 
were  paid  out  of  seven  cents  per  week.     In  19 17  sick  ben- 

8  Ibid.,  1895,  art.  17. 

»  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  July,   1896,  p.  279. 


92  THE  INTERNATIONAL  MOLDERS  UNION  [.4^^ 

efits  and  out-of-work  benefits  together  were  allotted  eleven 
cents  per  week  per  member,  and  no  specified  amount  was 
given  either  feature.  In  1902  the  benefit  was  increased  to 
$5.25  per  week  and  in  1907  it  was  raised  to  $5.40.  Under 
both  rates,  with  the  deduction  for  dues,  there  was  left  a 
net  receipt  of  $5  in  place  of  $4.75,  the  net  amount  from 
1895  to  1902.  In  1917  the  convention  adopted  a  benefit 
of  $7  per  week,  plus  the  amount  paid  in  for  dues,  or  $7,60 
in  all. 

Since  1902  members  who  have  received  the  full  sick 
benefit  for  three  successive  years  have  been  compelled  to 
draw  their  disability  benefits  and  to  assume  honorary  stand- 
ing.^" This  rule  was  adopted  to  prevent  members  inflicted 
with  incurable  diseases  from  becoming  a  drain  upon  the  sick 
funds,  which  were  intended  for  temporary  relief  only. 
Since  the  same  date  a  member  leaving  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  union  has  been  excluded  from  sick  benefits  unless  absent 
for  the  benefit  of  his  health  with  the  consent  of  his  local 
union.  This  rule  became  important  when  many  molders 
enlisted  for  service  during  the  World  War.  Another 
change  made  in  1902  allowed  payment  of  benefits  to  mem- 
bers who  did  not  owe  over  thirteen  weeks'  dues. 

The  following  table  shows  what  the  Molders  have  ex- 
pended for  sick  benefits.  The  total  amount  paid  out  has 
been  exceeded  by  only  one  other  American  trade  union,  the 
Cigar  Makers. 

1896 $38,511.00              1907 $  190,117.10 

1897 36,720.00              1908 159,916.20 

1898 37,710.00              1909 120,258.65 

1899 57,465.00              1910 146,110.40 

1900 102,936.00              1911 154,391.40 

1901 118,515.00              1912 154,497.40 

1902 134,116.00              1913 172,792.20 

1903 178,35500              1914 169,943.20 

1904 198,214.25              1915 138,819.40 

1905 173,946.25              1916 164,611.60 

1906 176,799.00              1917 184,789.50 

____^ Total $3.oi  0,593-55 

10  During  the  term  1902-1907  disability  benefits  were  drawn  in 
89  cases  where  sick  benefits  had  been  paid  for  three  years.  In  1907 
the  rule  was  adopted  that  total  disability  benefits  were  not  to 
be  paid  in  such  cases  until  one  year  after  payment'  of  the  last  sick 
benefit. 


481]]  MUTUAL    INSURANCE  93 

Benefits  for  Honorary  Members. — Honorary  members 
were  allowed  to  join  the  Beneficial  Association  in  1870  on 
the  same  terms  as  active  members.  They  were  also  allowed 
equal  privileges  with  active  members  upon  the  establishment 
of  the  superannuation  benefit  in  1874  and  upon  the  adop- 
tion of  the  death  benefit  in  1878.  In  1895,  when  the  sick- 
benefit  feature  was  established,  honorary  members  who  de- 
sired to  retain  their  standing  for  all  benefits  were  required 
to  pay  a  weekly  tax  of  fifteen  cents,  ten  cents  of  which 
went  to  the  local  sick  funds,  and  five  cents  to  the  general 
treasury  for  death  and  disability  payments.  If  they 
wished  to  be  entitled  merely  to  death  and  disability  relief, 
they  were  to  contribute  twenty-five  cents  per  month  to  the 
international  treasury.^^ 

In  1912  the  financier  reported  that  the  sums  paid  as  sick 
benefits  to  honorary  members  had  exceeded  dues  received 
from  them  on  sick-benefit  account.  For  the  term  1902- 
1907  the  excess  had  been  $8,643.25;  for  the  term  1907- 
1912,  $19,979.65.  During  the  1907-1912  term,  receipts 
from  death  and  disability  payments  had  been  only  $1,700 
while  the  expenditures  for  benefits  had  been  $5,075.  Meas- 
ures were  at  once  taken  by  the  convention.  All  honorary 
members  who  desired  to  be  in  good  standing  for  benefits 
were  put  into  one  group  instead  of  two,  as  formerly,  and 
all  were  required  to  subscribe  for  both  kinds  of  benefits. 
Twenty  cents  per  week  in  dues  was  assessed,  fifteen  cents 
of  which  was  to  be  retained  for  sick-benefit  funds  in  local 
unions  while  five  cents  was  to  be  remitted  to  headquarters 
for  payment  of  death  and  disability  benefits.^^ 

In  1902  it  was  ordered  that  no  honorary  member  should 
be  eligible  for  benefits  who  had  not  been  a  member  in 
continuous  active  standing  for  a  period  of  at  least  five 
years  previous  to  his  application  for  beneficial  participation. 
In  1907  the  period  was  raised  to  ten  years,  and  in  1917  to 
fifteen  years.  In  this  way  the  union  has  made  it  impos- 
sible  for  a   molder  after   a   short   active   membership   to 

11  Constitution,  1895,  art.  17.  sec.  8. 

12  Proceedings,   1912,  pp.    100,   197. 


94  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [^482 

secure  for  the  rest  of  his  Hfe  cheap  insurance  at  the  expense 
of  working  molders, 

Out-of-Work  Benefits. — Molders,  like  printers,  have  al- 
ways been  noted  for  their  roving  habits.  Until  about  1890 
travelling  members  were  the  object  of  special  solicitude  on 
the  part  of  the  general  and  local  unions.  Privileges  were 
granted  them  which  were  denied  to  residents,  because  trav- 
elling members  were  usually  thought  of  as  unemployed 
mechanics  in  search  of  jobs.  One  practice  which  was 
adopted  by  the  local  unions  at  an  early  date  was  that  of 
loaning  money  to  travelling  members.  In  i860  the  inter- 
national union  took  cognizance  of  the  situation  and  pro- 
vided that  in  case  it  became  necessary  for  one  union  to 
grant  money  for  the  relief  of  a  travelling  member  of  any  other 
union,  the  amount  so  granted  should  be  endorsed  upon  the 
back  of  the  beneficiary's  card.  It  then  became  the  duty 
of  the  union  receiving  the  card  for  deposit  to  collect  the 
sum  endorsed  upon  it  and  to  forward  the  amount  to  the 
local  union  which  had  furnished  the  relief.  In  1863  it 
was  further  provided  that  in  case  the  union  receiving  the 
card  deemed  it  impossible  for  the  member  to  pay  all  that 
he  had  been  loaned,  the  balance  due  might  be  endorsed 
upon  a  new  card.^^ 

By  1866  many  local  unions  began  to  complain  that  they 
were  unable  to  make  collections  on  a  large  part  of  the 
loans  which  they  had  made  to  travelling  m.embers.  In  many 
instances  all  trace  of  the  borrowers  was  lost.  Again, 
unions  which  received  endorsed  cards  rarely  made  any 
effort  to  collect  the  loans.  Even  when  they  were  collected 
the  sums  so  received  were  not  always  forwarded  to  the 
creditor  unions.  In  some  unions  warning  was  given  that 
no  more  loans  would  be  allowed.  In  others  it  was  ques- 
tioned whether,  after  all,  travelling  members  deserved  help, 
since  many  of  them  had  given  evidence  of  being  arrogant 
"  bummers "  instead  of  honest  mechanics.  Doubts  as  to 
the  desirability  of  assisting  the  "  hobo  "  gradually  increased 

13  Constitution,  i860,  By-Laws,  art.  5,  sec.  3 ;  art.  10,  sec.  6. 


483J  MUTUAL    INSURANCE  95 

to  such  a  degree  that  during  the  early  nineties  many  local 
unions  announced  that  they  would  no  longer  be  "bull- 
dozed "  by  travelling  "  loafers  "  who  desired  "  meal  tickets." 
Since  that  time  the  local  unions  have  generally  refrained 
from  assisting  travelling  members  from  funds  primarily 
intended  for  other  purposes. 

Irregular  relief  granted  to  travelling  members  was  an 
inadequate  and  unsystematic  way  of  caring  for  the  unem- 
ployed. The  first  step  toward  a  better  arrangement  was 
taken  in  1878  when  it  was  decided  that  members  out  of  em- 
ployment for  at  least  three  months  from  causes  over  which 
they  had  no  control  should  be  relieved  from  the  payment  of 
the  monthly  dues  during  the  three  months  or  until  they 
could  secure  employment.  After  1882  this  rule  was  super- 
seded by  another  provision  to  the  effect  that  an  unem- 
ployed member  should  not  be  suspended  as  the  rules  formerly 
required,  if  he  owed  five  dollars  or  more  on  the  first  meet- 
ing nights  of  June  or  October  each  year. 

During  1896  there  was  much  discussion  of  the  pos- 
sibilities of  out-of-work  relief.  It  was  argued  that  such 
a  measure  would  prevent  scabbing,  suspension  from  mem- 
bership, and  general  disintegration  of  the  union  during 
dull  times.  Memories  of  the  panic  of  1893  were  still  vivid 
in  the  minds  of  many  unionists.  It  had  become  especially 
necessary  to  have  relief  for  the  unemployed,  it  was  pointed 
out,  because  union  dues  had  been  greatly  increased  in  1895. 
It  was  urged  that  this  very  increase  would  aflford  revenue 
for  the  payment  of  out-of-work  benefits  and  that  if  still 
higher  dues  proved  necessary,  the  holding  power  of  the 
new  benefit  would  more  than  compensate  financially  for 
the  increased  tax  burden,  as  had  been  the  case  in  the  Cigar 
Makers.  Few  members  opposed  the  idea  of  establishing 
some  sort  of  out-of-work  relief.  Many  of  the  leaders  of 
the  organization,  however,  counseled  moderation.  Upon 
the  suggestion  of  the  executive  board  several  local  unions 
tried  out  the  possibilities  of  unemployment  relief  by  provid- 
ing for  the  remission  of  dues  to  all  members  for  periods 


96  THE  INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [484 

varying  from  eight  weeks  to  six  months.  These  local 
unions  met  with  fair  success  in  their  respective  schemes, 
even  though  their  hmited  membership  offered  scanty  actu- 
arial material. 

In  April,  1897,  the  executive  board  approved  a  proposed 
amendment  to  the  union's  constitution  which  authorized  the 
creation  of  out-of-work  relief.  By  referendum  vote  the 
amendment  was  adopted  and  the  plan  outlined  went  into 
active  operation  October  i,  1897.  The  new  system  provided 
that  any  member  who  was  unable  to  secure  work,  provided 
his  inability  were  not  due  to  drunkenness  or  other  mis- 
conduct, should  become  entitled  "  to  relief  from  payment 
of  dues  for  a  period  of  not  more  than  thirteen  weeks  in 
any  one  year,  whether  such  idleness  be  continuous  or  other- 
wise," the  year  beginning  from  the  first  date  on  which  relief 
was  given.  Members  of  the  organization  who  were  not 
"  actually  following  the  trade  as  a  means  of  earning  a  liveli- 
hood," or  who  were  "  temporarily  or  continuously  employed 
at  some  other  occupation,"  were  excluded.  To  be  entitled  to 
relief  from  dues  it  was  provided  that  a  molder  should  have 
enjoyed  good  standing  for  at  least  six  minths  and  should  not 
owe  more  than  four  weeks'  dues.  For  every  week  of  idleness 
after  the  first  two  weeks,  up  to  the  limit  of  thirteen  weeks, 
the  local  financial  secretary  was  to  affix  an  out-of-work 
stamp  in  the  member's  receipt  book  and  the  member  was 
to  pay  no  dues.  The  financial  secretary  was  further  re- 
quired to  keep  records  of  all  members  receiving  relief  and 
of  all  out-of-work  stamps  received  and  used,  to  report 
monthly  to  the  financier  the  number  of  stamps  used  and,  at 
each  meeting  of  the  local  union,  to  read  the  names  of  those 
obtaining  stamps  and  the  number  of  stamps  credited  to  each. 
The  original  issue  of  stamps  was  to  be  taken  care  of  by  the 
international  secretary  who  was  allowed  to  use  his  discre- 
tion as  to  the  number  of  stamps  to  be  sent  a  local  union 
upon  receipt  of  its  order. 

The  financial  operations  involved  in  the  unemployment 
relief  caused  the  creation  of  another  fund,  the  out-of-work 


485J  MUTUAL    INSURANCE  97 

relief  fund.  To  start  the  project  twenty-five  per  cent  of 
the  surplus  in  the  sick  fund  in  May  1897  was  called  in,  and 
deposited  with  the  international  secretary.  Regular  re^ 
ceipts  thereafter  were  obtained  by  the  quarterly  dispatch 
of  twelve  and  one  half  per  cent  of  the  sick  fund  collected 
by  local  unions,  that  is,  one  cent  per  member  per  week,  to 
the  international  secretary  upon  order  from  the  financier. 
When  stamps  are  sent  out  to  local  unions  the  international 
secretary  draws  from  the  out-of-work  fund  a  sum  equiva- 
lent to  the  value  of  the  stamps.  The  sum  so  drawn  is 
apportioned  between  the  monthly  fund  and  the  sick-benefit 
relief  fund.^*  In  effect,  then,  the  international  union  draws 
on  a  reserve  fund  for  the  benefit  of  its  active  funds  every 
time  an  out-of-work  stamp  is  issued.  The  local  unions 
simply  credit  beneficiaries  with  having  paid  their  dues  and 
are  credited  in  turn  by  the  international  union  as  having 
collected  such  dues. 

Comparatively  few  changes  in  the  original  system  have 
been  made.  Members  are  now  eligible  to  relief  who  do  not 
owe  dues  for  more  than  thirteen  weeks.  Benefits  are  paid 
after  one  week's  idleness.  These  changes  have  liberalized 
the  system  of  relief.  It  has  also  been  decided  that  a  mem- 
ber in  receipt  of  strike  or  sick  benefit  is  not  entitled  to  the 
out-of-work  benefit.  Any  member,  however,  who  has 
drawn  thirteen  weeks'  continuous  sick  benefits  may,  if  he 
continues  ill,  draw  out-of-work  assistance  for  his  permitted 
term,  provided  he  was  eligible  to  receive  out-of-work 
stamps  previous  to  obtaining  sick  benefits.  Although  the 
weekly  dues  are  now  sixty  cents,  it  is  still  the  practice  to 
transfer  only  eighteen  cents  from  the  out-of-work  relief 
fund  to  the  monthly  fund  and  the  sick-benefit  relief  fund 
upon  the  issuance  of  an  out-of-work  stamp.  Conse- 
quently the  active  funds  sufifer  some  loss  since  the  Interna- 
tional now  receives  forty-seven  cents  on  each  weekly  pay- 
ment of  dues. 

For  some  months  after  the  outbreak  of  the  World  War 

1*  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  June,  1897,  p.  281. 
7 


^8  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  C4^^ 

conditions  in  the  foundry  business  in  this  country  were 
extremely  unsettled.  Extensive  unemployment  resulted. 
Before  long  hundreds  of  union  molders  and  coremakers 
had  received  all  the  out-of-work  relief  to  which  they  were 
entitled.  The  situation  became  so  serious  that  the  executive 
board  in  February,  19 15,  appropriated  $25,000  to  be  used  in 
issuing  "  donation  stamps  "  to  members  who  were  still  un- 
employed after  having  received  their  thirteen  weeks  out-of- 
work  benefit.  By  March  31,  1916,  conditions  had  so  im- 
proved as  to  make  this  modification  in  the  plan  no  longer 
necessary.  Altogether  there  were  placed  in  members'  books 
20,762  donation  stamps  representing  a  value  of  $8,304.80  at 
forty  cents  each.^^  At  the  19 17  convention  the  executive 
board  was  specifically  empowered  to  extend  out-of-work 
benefits  as  long  as  might  appear  necessary  during  periods 
of  extraordinary  industrial  depression. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  out-of-work 
stamps  issued  annually  down  to  1917  and  their  value: 

Year  Stamps  Value^* 

1897  (3  months) 2,960  $       740.00 

1898 11,840  2,960.00 

1899 6,060  1,515.00 

1900 32,17s  8,043.75 

1901 27,125  6,781.25 

1902 10,300  2,575.00 

1903 37,200  9,300.00 

1904 94,470  23,617.50 

1905 27,100  6,775.00 

1906 19,190  4,797-50 

1907 53,813  13,453-25 

1908 195,523  79,209.20 

1909 44.252  17,710.80 

1910 29,530  1 1,812.00 

191 1 63,240  25,296.00 

1912 38,472  15,388.80 

1913 57,215  22,886.00 

1914 143,337  57,334-80 

1915 80,075  32,030.00 

1916 16,225  6,491.00 

1917 18,670  7,468.00 

Total 1,008,772  $356,184.85 

15  Proceedings,  1912,  p.  148.  It  is  interesting  to  observe  that  the 
1912  convention  endorsed  the  principle  of  dividing  work  during 
dull  times  as  a  means  of  combatting  temporary  unemployment. 

1"  Valued  at  25  cents  from  1897  to  1907;  at  40  cents  from  1907 
to  1917. 


487]  MUTUAL    INSURANCE  99 

Superannuation  Benefits  and  a  Holders'  Home. — The 
only  plan  for  a  superannuation  benefit  that  the  Holders 
have  ever  adopted  has  already  been  described.  Since  1890 
there  have  been  many  proposals  for  the  reestablishment  of 
the  feature.  In  1897  it  was  advocated  that  the  union  should 
establish  a  "  home  for  the  aged  and  infirm  "  which,  it  was 
believed,  would  prove  a  "  blessing "  to  the  organization 
and  a  "  means  of  bringing  thousands  of  members  into  the 
fold."  ^^  The  home  established  by  the  Printers  undoubtedly 
provoked  this  discussion.  Officials  of  the  union  advised 
that  the  cost  of  up-keep  for  a  home  for  aged  and  infirm 
members  would  be  considerable,  that  only  a  few  members 
could  be  cared  for,  and  that  the  management  would  prob- 
ably prove  a  source  of  contention.  A  superannuation  ben- 
efit payable  to  every  member  was  suggested  as  more  ad- 
visable, but  the  expense  attached  to  such  a  benefit  was  held 
to  make  it  undesirable  for  the  time  being.  Accordingly,  at 
the  1899  convention  various  proposals  for  the  home  or  for 
the  benefit  were  defeated.  At  the  191 7  convention  eight 
different  resolutions  providing  for  some  form  of  old  age 
pension  were  introduced.  After  receiving  a  report  from 
Financier  Metcalf  that  so  far  few  international  unions  had 
adopted  such  a  plan  and  that  the  payment  of  benefits 
amounting  to  five  dollars  per  week  would  necessitate  ad- 
ditional dues  of  at  least  twelve  cents  a  week,  the  convention 
decided  to  refer  the  question  to  a  popular  vote.^®  When 
the  referendum  was  taken  a  majority  was  found  opposed  to 
the  establishment  of  the  benefit  probably  because  it  involved 
so  large  an  increase  in  dues. 

^^  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  January,  1897,  p.  24. 
18  Proceedings,   1917,  pp.  224-226.     The  convention  endorsed  the 
payment  of  old-age  pensions  through  governmental  agencies. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

The  Control  of  Strikes 

General  Strike  Control. — As  a  general  rule,  local  unions 
in  any  trade  use  less  judgment  about  going  on  strike  than 
do  the  larger  units  of  organization.  Local  bodies  see  only  a 
part  of  the  industrial  and  commercial  situation.  Blinded  by 
provincial  prejudices  and  deluded  by  false  ideas  of  their 
strength,  local  unions,  if  unchecked,  are  likely  to  enter  into 
strikes,  fight  stubbornly  for  a  time,  and  then  succumb.  As 
an  outcome,  unionism  in  certain  districts  is  killed.  Inde- 
pendent local  action  lacks  eiifectiveness  in  equalizing  wages 
and  conditions  of  employment  in  competitive  districts  and 
in  countering  the  policies  of  hostile  employers'  associations, 
organized  nationally.  Centralized  control  over  strikes,  there- 
fore, has  become  a  necessity  for  efficient  labor  organiza- 
tion. 

Little  can  be  learned  of  strike  control  in  the  early  local 
unions,  except  in  those  of  Philadelphia  and  Buffalo.  Both 
unions  provided  that  "no  body  of  hands  shall  quit  work 
without  the  sanction  of  the  general  executive  committee  of 
the  union."  Members  on  a  strike  "  legally  ordered  "  were 
entitled  to  a  benefit,  married  men  obtaining  a  larger  amount 
than  unmarried.  The  executive  committee  was  also  author- 
ized to  defray  the  travelling  expenses  of  striking  members 
-who  wished  to  leave  the  city  in  search  of  work,  provided 
they  agreed  "  not  to  apply  for  any  further  assistance  from 
the  union  during  the  strike."  ^ 

When  the  international  union  was  formed  in  1859,  strike 
control  was  in  theory  one  of  its  functions,  but  several  years 
passed  before  effective  direction  over  strikes  was  attempted. 

1  Journeymen  Stove  and  Hollow-ware  Moulders'  Union  of  Phila- 
delphia, Constitution  and  By-Laws,  1855,  art.  6,  sees.  2-4;  Journey- 
men Iron  Molders'  Union  of  Buffalo,  Constitution,  1859. 


489II  THE   CONTROL    OF   STRIKES  lOI 

The  first  convention  refused  international  recognition  to  any 
strike  unless  it  was  sanctioned  by  the  executive  committee 
of  the  general  union,  consisting  of  the  president  and  vice- 
presidents.  When  a  strike  was  recognized,  the  committee 
was  to  "advise  the  various  local  unions  of  the  fact  and 
recommend  to  local  unions  what  assistance  to  render."  * 
While  the  convention  was  in  session  a  critical  strike  was  in 
progress  at  Albany,  Without  waiting  for  the  newly-formed 
committee  to  act,  the  union  resolved  "to  raise  funds  for 
our  co-workers  "  by  solicitation  from  all  the  local  unions.  The 
convention's  appeal  was  answered  with  promptness  and  the 
strike  was  financed  to  victory.  The  general  union  thus 
gained  great  prestige  among  the  hitherto  disunited  local 
unions.  For  the  first  year  of  national  organization  the 
Holders  collected  over  $5,000  from  local  branches  for  strike 
purposes. 

So  frequently  and  costly  were  strikes  in  its  early  history 
that  in  some  instances  the  International  Union,  "  embarrassed 
by  difficulties  on  all  sides,"  was  unable  to  lend  aid.  In  an 
endeavor  to  lessen  the  burden,  the  1861  convention  called 
upon  local  unions  "to  discountenance  all  strikes  in  their  re- 
spective localities  until  every  other  remedy  has  been  tried 
and  has  failed."  ^  When  conciliation  bore  no  results,  a  local 
union  requiring  the  assistance  of  the  international  "  to  vin- 
dicate its  rights  and  privileges"  was  ordered  to  approach 
the  general  body  for  permission  to  strike.  Every  subordi- 
nate organization  having  a  grievance  against  an  employer 
was  instructed  to  send  to  the  international  president  "  an 
official  document,"  passed  by  a  union  meeting,  signed  by  the 
local  president  and  recording  secretary,  and  attested  by  seal, 
setting  forth  the  nature  of  the  grievance,  the  proposed  rem- 
edy, the  number  of  members  involved,  and  the  weekly 
amount  necessary  to  support  a  strike.  A  printed  circular 
of  this  statement  was  to  be  directed  by  headquarters  to  the 
vice-presidents  (then  the  local  corresponding  secretaries)  for 

2  Proceedings,  1859,  p.  12. 
sibid.,  1861,  p.  39. 


102  THE  INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  ([49O 

their  votes.  In  returning  their  ballots  the  vice-presidents 
were  to  report  the  number  of  members  in  their  respective 
unions  who  were  employed  and  the  average  local  wage.  If 
a  majority  of  the  votes  favored  the  grievance,  the  general 
president  was  to  levy  upon  all  members  not  engaged  in  the 
strike  a  per  capita  assessment  not  to  exceed  two  per  cent 
of  the  weekly  wages,  payable  to  the  international  treas- 
urer.^ As  soon  as  the  treasurer  received  an  order  from 
the  president  to  pay  the  benefits  which  the  latter  found  to  be 
necessary,  he  was  to  forward  the  funds  at  once  to  the  strik- 
ing union  or  unions. 

The  big  Philadelphia  strike  of  1863  at  once  tested  the  new 
system.  To  finance  this  dispute  the  union  raised  $12,642.38. 
Even  this  amount  was  not  enough  to  bring  success.  The 
failure  of  this  strike  tended  for  a  time  to  destroy  confidence 
in  the  International  Union  and  to  some  extent  weakened  re- 
spect for  a  central  control  of  strikes.  Unauthorized  strikes 
began  to  increase  in  number.  No  penalty  was  attached  to 
such  strikes  save  the  loss  of  benefits  paid  through  head- 
quarters, but  this  meant  little  since  local  unions  often  found 
it  possible  to  finance  themselves  or  to  obtain  funds  from 
sympathetic  sister  organizations.  Neither  was  there  a  pen- 
alty imposed  upon  failure  to  pay  strike  assessments.  In 
one  case  President  Sylvis  refused  to  send  a  deputy  to  handle 
an  unauthorized  strike  and  protected  from  expulsion  a  few 
members  of  the  local  union  who  remained  at  work.  Beyond 
certain  powers  of  negation,  however,  he  had  no  authority. 

Another  abuse  which  Sylvis  fought  was  the  payment  of 
strike  benefits  to  local  unions  while  in  arrears  on  their  in- 
ternational tax.  The  president  urged  repeatedly  that  author- 
ity to  strike  be  withheld  until  such  indebtedness  was  can- 
celled. In  1867  the  convention  followed  this  recommenda- 
tion by  requiring  that  petitioning  unions  have  on  hand,  sub- 
ject to  order,  the  amount  due  the  international.  Other 
important  changes  were  also  made  at  the  same  time  in  the 

*  Constitution,  i85i,  art.  7. 


49^2  ^^^   CONTROL   OF    STRIKES  IO3 

strike  rules.  Petitions  for  authority  to  strike,  first,  had  to 
be  adopted  by  a  two  thirds  vote  of  a  local  union  and,  then, 
had  to  be  sanctioned  by  a  majority  of  the  other  local  unions 
acting  through  their  corresponding  representatives.  Fi- 
nally there  had  to  be  another  two  thirds  vote  in  the  union 
to  order  the  men  out,  this  vote  to  be  taken  within  five  days 
after  the  receipt  of  notice  from  headquarters  that  a  peti- 
tion had  been  approved.  Provision  was  also  made  for  pay- 
ing strike  benefits  of  specified  amounts,  $5  per  week  to  un- 
married members,  and  $7  to  married  members  and  single 
members  with  dependents.^ 

As  difficulty  was  encountered  in  getting  corresponding 
representatives  to  vote  on  strike  circulars,  it  was  resolved 
in  1868  that  those  not  voting  should  be  counted  in  the  neg- 
ative. Representatives  casting  favorable  ballots  were  also 
recorded  as  voting  for  a  special  tax,  not  to  exceed  five  per 
cent  of  members'  wages,  imposed  upon  all  local  unions  to 
pay  strike  benefits.  As  no  announcement  of  the  vote  on  any 
circular  could  be  made  until  approximately  two  weeks  after 
a  petition  was  filed  and  since  strike  benefits  did  not  arrive 
until  about  two  weeks  later,  owing  to  the  treasurer's  not 
being  located  at  headquarters,  there  were  very  few  "  legal 
strikes."  The  international  union  was  sometimes  so  poor 
that  it  paid  benefits  in  scrip  in  place  of  cash,  and  local 
unions  on  strike  were  compelled  to  borrow  money  from 
sister  organizations.®  Deficits  in  strike  pay  were  usually 
made  up  by  subsequent  conventions  which  allowed  "  back 
claims  "  to  the  local  unions  interested.  In  view  of  all  these 
conditions,  local  unions  were  disposed  to  go  ahead  on  their 
own  responsibility.     The  legitimacy  of  this  procedure  was 

»  Ibid.,  1867,  art.  7,  sec.  2. 

«  In  1864,  $19,260  was  collected  and  paid  out  for  strike  purposes, 
while  the  entire  returns  from  the  regular  per  capita  tax,  levied 
for  general  expenses,  was  but  $4,689.37.  Thus  the  strike  expense 
amounted  to  over  $3  per  annum  on  each  of  the  6,000  members. 
The  Albany  1866  lockout  cost  $3  per  capita.  For  all  disputes  for 
the  six  years  ending  January  i,  1866,  President  Sylvis  computed 
the  expense  to  all  branches  of  the  Union  as  $1,161,582.26,  or  $24  per 
annum  per  capita.    There  is  reason  to  believe  this  figure  too  high. 


104  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [^492 

partially  recognized  by  the  1870  convention  which  or- 
dered benefits  paid  to  two  unions  which  had  gone  out  on 
unauthorized  strikes. 

Radical  changes  in  the  strike  rules  were  made  in  1870.  It 
was  provided  that  strikes  should  be  considered  sanctioned 
if  there  was  not  a  "  negative  vote  of  two  thirds  "  on  circu- 
lars. Failure  to  vote  meant  an  affirmative  ballot.  Each 
circular  was  to  contain  two  proposals:  (i)  that  the  local 
union  applying  for  authorization  receive  financial  aid,  (2) 
that  it  receive  moral  aid.  If  the  second  proposition  only 
was  endorsed,  the  local  union  was  to  receive  no  benefits  but 
the  work  in  dispute  could  be  struck.  Finally,  in  sending  out 
a  strike  circular  the  international  president  was  to  inform 
each  union  of  the  exact  weekly  amount  required  from  it  to 
sustain  the  walkout.  If  a  vote  favorable  to  financial  aid 
was  returned,  local  unions  were  left  to  collect  their  appor- 
tionments in  any  way  they  saw  fit,  provided  only  that  weekly 
remittances  were  made  to  the  general  treasurer.'^  Under 
these  rules  there  proved  to  be  no  difficulty  in  obtaining 
strike  authorization.  Almost  every  grievance,  "just  and 
unjust,  in  season  and  out  of  season,"  was  sanctioned,  largely 
because  the  corresponding  representatives  would  not  vote 
on  strike  circulars  and  thus  were  counted  in  the  affirmative. 
A  few  unauthorized  walkouts  continued  to  occur,  chiefly 
because  local  unions  did  not  wish  to  wait  from  two  to  four 
weeks  before  sanction  and  benefits  could  be  obtained.^ 

In  1874  President  Saffin  proposed  (i)  that  each  union,  act- 
ing through  its  corresponding  representatives,  be  granted  as 
many  votes  on  strike  circulars  as  it  was  entitled  to  in  con- 
vention, (2)  that  the  president  be  allowed  to  use  facts  in 
his  possession  in  asking  local  unions  to  vote  "  yes  "  or  "  no  " 
on  circulars,  and  (3)  that,  together  with  the  vice-presidents, 

7  Proceedings,  1870,  pp.  74,  75. 

8  Owing  to  the  slow  process  of  levying,  collecting  and  forward- 
ing strike  _  benefits,  President  Saffin  anticipated  the  situation  on 
two  occasions  and  levied  assessments,  amounting  to  $3,000,  in. 
advance.  In  neither  case  was  his  action  approved  by  the  con- 
vention (Ibid.,  1872,  p.  7;  1874,  P-  11)  ■ 


4931]  THE   CONTROL    OF   STRIKES  IO5 

he  be  clothed  with  authority  to  refuse  further  financial  aid 
to  strikes  hopelessly  lost.  All  of  these  suggestions  were 
adopted  to  the  great  improvement  of  the  strike  rules.^  It 
was  also  provided  that  two  thirds  of  all  the  local  unions 
must  vote  in  the  affirmative  in  order  to  authorize  a  strike. 
To  secure  a  full  expression  of  opinion  a  fine  of  ten  dollars 
was  placed  upon  all  local  unions  whose  representatives  failed 
to  respond  promptly  to  a  strike  circular.  The  1874  conven- 
tion also  sustained  a  number  of  decisions  relative  to  strike 
control  made  by  President  Saffin  the  year  previous.  These 
held  (i)  that  no  member  could  strike  a  job,  (2)  that  no 
shop  committee  could  order  a  job  or  shop  to  be  struck,  (3) 
that  members  employed  in  a  shop  could  not  strike  the  shop, 
and  (4)  that  no  bill  of  grievances  could  be  issued  when  the 
men  involved  had  quit  work. 

In  spite  of  these  improvements  President  Fitzpatrick  soon 
afterwards  declared  that  the  "  strike  laws  "  were  about  as 
"  bad  as  they  could  be  made."  The  method  of  voting  on 
circulars  was  too  slow  and  cumbersome,  especially  since 
several  local  unions  had  been  organized  on  the  Pacific 
coast.  Local  unions  were,  in  his  opinion,  unlikely  to  exer- 
cise wise  judgment  in  voting  since  their  own  interests  rather 
than  the  justice  of  a  cause  was  generally  the  first  consider- 
ation with  them.  Strike  assessments  were  also  hard  to  col- 
lect as  but  few  local  unions  levied  regular  taxes  to  meet 
them.  In  July,  1878,  strike  tax  amounting  to  $2,694.70  was 
still  due.  Finally,  repeated  unsanctioned  strikes  occurred 
for  which  there  was  no  fitting  penalty.  Newly  formed 
unions  especially  erred  in  this  respect.  Loans  and  grants 
by  various  local  unions  to  others  engaged  in  unauthorized 
strikes  were  not  infrequent. 

A  drastic  reorganization  of  strike  rules  was  made  by  the 
1882  convention  to  obviate  most  of  the  difficulties  just  indi- 
cated. Local  unions  were  instructed  to  lay  their  grievances 
before  the  president  whose  duty  it  became  to  visit  the  dis- 

®  Ibid.,  1874,  pp.  II,  86,  92.  As  early  as  1867  Sylvis  urged  that 
the  president  be  granted  power  to  "  open  shops  illegally  closed." 


I06  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [494 

turbed  localities,  in  person  or  by  deputy,  and  to  examine 
into  the  facts  with  a  view,  first  of  all,  of  reaching  amicable 
settlements.  When  peaceful  solutions  could  not  be  obtained, 
disputes  were  to  be  laid  before  the  executive  board  (then 
composed  of  the  five  vice-presidents)  which,  in  conjunction 
with  the  president,  was  to  "have  absolute  control  of  all 
strikes  and  lockouts."  The  board  was  to  see  "  that  no  more 
strikes  are  on  hand  at  any  one  time  than  the  organization  is 
able  to  handle"  and  it  was  ordered  that  "the  whole  prestige 
and  force  of  the  National  Union,  financially  and  otherwise," 
be  concentrated  "  in  the  direction  most  needed."  As  a  cure 
for  unauthorized  strikes,  it  was  made  "  a  sufficient  cause 
for  expulsion  should  any  local  union  attempt  to  assume  re- 
sponsibility for  striking  without  their  grievance  having  the 
sanction  of  the  executive  board." ^"^  A  "strike  reserve 
fund"  secured  through  a  per  capita  tax  of  one  dollar  per 
year  was  also  created  for  the  support  of  strikers  until  the 
regular  assessments  could  be  collected.  Praiseworthy  as 
were  these  new  provisions,  they  did  not  cure  every  ill. 
The  "  strike  reserve  tax "  did  not  yield  enough  money  to 
care  for  such  strikes  as  were  sanctioned  and  this  fact  was 
made  an  excuse  for  not  obtaining  sanction.  Again,  since 
the  executive  board  was  more  reluctant  than  the  local  unions 
had  been  to  give  permission  to  strike,  petitioners  whose  cases 
were  dismissed  frequently  determined  to  carry  on  inde- 
pendent strikes  after  secretly  issuing  "  begging  circulars  to 
local  unions  and  other  labor  organizations  for  assistance." 
In  many  instances,  as  in  previous  years,  the  money  obtained 
in  this  manner  consisted  of  funds  taken  out  of  the  monthly 
tax  due  the  International.  One  great  series  of  independent 
strikes  involved  practically  every  union  from  Pittsburgh  to 
Quincy,  Illinois.  In  no  case,  however,  did  the  executive 
board  deem  it  advisable  to  suspend  an  offending  union.^^ 

In  1890  Martin  Fox  was  elected  international  president. 
Under  his  effective  leadership  the  executive  board  deter- 

1°  Ibid.,  1882,  pp.  76.  70. 
"  Ibid.,  1886,  p.  9. 


4951]  THE   CONTROL    OF    STRIKES  IO7 

mined  upon  a  strict  enforcement  of  the  strike  rules  and 
decided  never  to  sanction  a  strike  unless  there  was  a  sum  in 
the  treasury  sufiftcient  to  ensure  prompt  payment  of  strike 
benefits.  From  the  day  Fox  went  into  office,  benefits  have 
been  paid  in  every  instance,  a  fact  well  calculated  to  create 
respect  for  the  general  union.  The  1890  convention  in- 
creased the  per  capita  tax  from  twenty-five  to  forty  cents 
per  week,  and,  of  this  amount,  twenty-three  cents  went  to 
pay  strike,  death,  and  disability  benefits,  and  the  head- 
quarters' expenses  of  the  organization.  At  present,  out  of 
the  sixty  cent  dues  established  in  191 7,  thirty-six  cents  is 
allotted  these  expenditures.  While  Fox  insisted  upon  strict 
discipline  within  the  organization,  it  was  not  until  about 
1900  that  threats  to  withdraw  charters  for  unauthorized 
strikes  were  actually  carried  out.  Effective  penalties  im- 
posed upon  Chicago  and  San  Francisco  unions  put  a  damper 
upon  further  local  "rule  or  ruin"  practices.  In  1907  a 
new  rule  was  adopted  granting  the  president  and  executive 
board  power  to  suspend  members  refusing  to  obey  instruc- 
tions to  return  to  work  when  out  on  unauthorized  strike. 
Unsanctioned  strikes  are  now  practically  a  thing  of  the  past. 
The  power  of  the  International  is  too  strong  to  be  resisted 
by  any  local  union.  Insubordination  has  been  cured  be- 
cause members  know  that  any  violation  of  strike  rules  is 
quite  certain  to  be  punished  and  that  all  authorized  strikes 
will  receive  full  financial  support.^^ 

In  1899  a  flat  strike  benefit  of  $7  per  week  was  author- 
ized. In  1912  weekly  dues  of  forty  cents  were  ordered  re- 
mitted in  addition.  In  191 7  the  benefits  were  increased  to 
$9  per  week,  plus  the  regular  dues  of  sixty  cents.  Since 
1909,  when  the  international  treasurer  took  up  his  office  at 
the  Cincinnati  headquarters,  delays  in  forwarding  strike  pay 
have  been  abolished.     In  1895  it  was  voted  to  pay  benefits 

12  To  aid  the  executive  board  in  acting  on  over  one  hundred 
grievances  in  April,  1906,  all  the  business  agents  were  called  in  for 
consultation.  Since  that  time  business  agents  have  frequently  been 
summoned  to  advise  the  board. 


I08  THE  INTERNATIONAL  MOLDERS   UNION  [496 

only  after  the  first  week  of  a  strike.  The  same  rule  ob- 
tains at  present. 

Where  grievances  have  arisen  in  connection  with  any  shop 
or  shops,  local  committees  and  officers  have  always  carried 
on  the  preliminary  negotiations  with  employers.  For  many 
years  after  the  formation  of  the  international  union  prac- 
tically all  collective  bargaining  was  conducted  by  the  local 
unions.  As  the  general  body  gained  power  and  prestige, 
however,  it  began  to  receive  calls  for  assistance  in  handling 
local  questions.  In  1879  the  policy  of  sending  out  special 
organizers  wes  inaugurated.  These  agents  have  often  been 
used  to  handle  strikes  and  negotiate  settlements  for  local 
unions.  Business  agents  of  conference  boards  have  also 
served  under  the  president's  direction  as  investigators  of 
grievances.  Still  more  important  than  special  organizers  in 
the  work  of  conciliation  have  been  the  staff  officers  of  the 
International  Union.  When  the  vice-presidents  were  origi- 
nally put  on  a  salary  basis,  it  was  planned  to  use  them  chiefly 
as  organizers,  but  gradually  they  became  "  more  properly 
speaking  the  trained  diplomatists  of  the  organization,  whose 
tact,  knowledge  and  shrewdness "  enabled  them  to  act  as 
skilled  negotiators,  preventers  and  managers  of  strikes  and 
lockouts,  advisors  and  educators  of  the  local  unions.^^  That 
the  personal  investigation  of  grievances  has  been  of  value  is 
clearly  shown  by  figures  for  the  term  of  1895-1899.  In 
this  period  392  grievances  were  investigated  of  which  306 
were  adjusted  without  strikes.  Under  the  present  rules  the 
president  or  his  deputy,  that  is,  a  vice-president,  organizer, 
or  business  agent,  "  in  conjunction  with  the  local  commit- 
tee," is  supposed  "to  proceed  to  the  place  of  difficulty  to 
investigate  the  cause  of  the  trouble"  within  ten  days  after 
headquarters  has  been  notified  of  a  grievance. 

Sympathetic  Strikes. — At  various  times  down  to  1890 
molders  struck  in  sympathy  with  stove  mounters,  pattern 
makers,  and  machinists.     The  number  of  grievances  sup- 

13  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  May,  1899,  p.  220. 


497l]  THE   CONTROL   OF   STRIKES  IO9 

ported  was  not  large  and  none  of  the  trades  assisted  asked 
for  the  adoption  of  a  sympathetic  strike  policy.  After  1890 
the  weaker  metal  trades  began  to  appeal  with  some  fre- 
quency for  the  help  of  the  Holders  during  labor  difficulties. 
As  soon  as  this  tendency  became  manifest  the  executive 
board  insisted  that  the  local  unions  proceed  with  caution  be- 
fore lending  strike  support  to  the  appellants.  While  certain 
molders  contended  that  their  union  should  observe  the  old 
motto  of  the  Knights  of  Labor,  "  An  injury  to  one  is  the 
concern  of  all,"  the  board  expressed  strong  disapproval  of 
inconsiderate  sympathetic  strikes  and  "  warned  locals  that 
before  entering  upon  a  strike  of  this  sort  they  must  con- 
sult the  best  interests  of  their  own  trade  and  obtain  the  sanc- 
tion of  their  recognized  international  officers."" 

In  1894  the  Federated  Metal  Trades  was  organized  by  the 
Machinists,  the  Boiler  Makers,  the  Metal  Polishers,  the 
Blacksmiths,  the  Pattern  Makers,  and  the  Molders  under  the 
auspices  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor.  The  by- 
laws of  the  organization  placed  "  a  salutary  restriction  upon 
the  tendency  of  a  local  body  to  rush  into  an  ill-advised  con- 
flict "  by  recognizing  the  right  of  each  trade  to  enter  upon 
or  refrain  from  sympathetic  strikes,  as  it  might  see  fit.^^ 
After  1896  the  federation  was  discontinued.  During  its 
brief  career  it  accomplished  little  of  note.  The  Molders 
apparently  took  but  slight  interest  in  its  activities.  Follow- 
ing the  dissolution  of  the  Federated  Metal  Trades  the  pol- 
icy of  the  Molders,  so  far  as  sympathetic  action  was  con- 
cerned, became  somewhat  more  conservative.  In  April, 
1897,  the  executive  board  issued  a  statement  of  which  all 
local  unions  were  enjoined  to  take  strict  account.  The  board 
declared  that  while  it  would  endeavor  to  render  all  possible 
service  and  assistance  to  sister  bodies,  if  aid  were  to  be 
granted,  it  was  to  be  only  on  condition  that  before  an  allied 
trade  undertook  to  strike  it  should  lay  the  whole  grievance 

1*  Ibid.,  July,   1896.  p.   277. 
1'  Ibid.,   January,    1897,  P-    I5- 


no  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [.49^ 

before  the  Molders  for  their  investigation.  After  due  con- 
sideration the  president  and  board  would  then  decide 
whether  or  not  the  local  union  or  unions  would  be  justified 
in  participating  in  a  strike  with  the  petitioning  trade  if  the 
dispute  could  be  settled  in  no  other  way.  In  brief,  sym- 
pathetic strikes  were  to  follow  the  same  course  as  other 
strikes,  with  the  addition  of  advance  notice  from  the  trade 
whose  grievance  was  the  primary  thing  at  stake.  The  posi- 
tion taken  by  the  executive  board  was  affirmed  by  the  con- 
vention of  1899  and  the  same  rules  still  hold. 

In  1900  the  Machinists  and  the  National  Metal  Trades 
Association  entered  into  a  desperate  struggle  over  the  nom- 
inal issue  of  the  shorter  work  day  behind  which  lay  the  real 
issue  of  the  closed  shop.  The  severity  of  this  conflict,  to- 
gether with  the  rapid  development  of  comprehensive  em- 
ployers' associations  in  all  departments  of  industry,  set 
trade  unionists  in  the  metal  trades  once  more  to  thinking 
about  the  possibilities  of  a  federation  as  a  means  of  defense. 
As  a  result  the  unions  quickly  formed  a  temporary  organ- 
ization^^ and  finally  in  1903  a  constitution  and  by-laws  were 
adopted  for  what  was  called  the  Metal  Trades  Federation. 
Since  the  contemplated  federation  appeared  unlikely  to  be 
successful  as  several  of  the  unions  were  weak  and  inex- 
perienced, the  convention  of  1902  voted  to  leave  the  question 
of  affiliation  to  the  incoming  officers.  The  latter  subse- 
quently decided  to  keep  free  from  the  federated  movement 
when  they  discovered  that  affiliated  unions  were  required  to 
call  sympathetic  strikes  if  a  two  thirds  vote  of  the  general 
unions,  acting  through  their  executive  boards,  resulted  in 
favor  of  supporting  the  grievance  of  one  of  the  allied 
trades.^'' 

The  Federation,  like  its  predecessor,  lived  only  a  year  or 

1"  The  organizing  trades  were  the  Machinists,  the  Pattern  Makers, 
the  Metal  Polishers,  the  Blacksmiths,  the  Boiler  Makers,  the 
Allied  Metal  Mechanics,  the  Core  Makers,  and  the  Electrical 
Workers. 

^"^  Other  unions  which  later  decided  to  femain  independent  were 
the  Pattern  Makers  and  the  Boiler  Makers. 


499II  THE   CONTROL    OF    STRIKES  IH 

two  and  produced  many  disappointments  for  its  supporters. 
The  movement  for  some  form  of  alliance,  however,  con- 
tinued. Accordingly  a  meeting  was  held  at  Cincinnati  in 
1906,  attended  by  representatives  of  the  Machinists,  the 
Blacksmiths,  the  Pattern  Makers,  the  Metal  Polishers,  the 
Boiler  Makers,  and  the  Molders.  Taught  by  the  lessons  of 
the  past,  the  officials  opposed  the  idea  of  an  offensive  and 
defensive  alliance.  Now,  even  more  than  in  previous  years, 
"the  stronger  unions  looked  dubiously  upon  a  proposition 
which  invited  entanglements  on  behalf  of  a  weaker  ally ; 
the  high-dues  union  looked  askance  at  the  low-dues  ally."  ^^ 
The  conference,  therefore,  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
wisdom  dictated  the  formation  of  a  Federated  Metal  Trades 
whose  sole  function  should  be  that  of  organizing.  When 
the  plan  came  before  the  Molders'  convention  of  1907  noth- 
ing more  definite  was  done  than  to  endorse  some  "  practical 
form  of  federation  "  as  a  means  of  combating  hostile  em- 
ployers. But  while  the  union  did  not  see  fit  to  sanction  the 
work  of  the  1906  conference,  it  authorized  the  president  and 
two  other  members,  named  by  the  convention,  to  call  an- 
other conference  of  the  allied  trades,  provided  the  idea  was 
approved  by  a  referendum.  The  general  vote,  when  taken, 
proved  favorable  to  the  project.  As  a  result  of  the  call 
which  the  Molders'  committee  sent  out,  a  convention  was 
held  which  induced  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  to 
create  a  Metal  Trades  Department  at  its  1907  session.  The 
functions  of  this  body  are  to  promote  local  metal  trades 
councils,  to  adjust  trade  and  jurisdictional  disputes,  and  to 
assist  in  the  organization  of  the  local  unions.  Its  rules  pro- 
vided originally  that  if  a  strike  were  inaugurated  by  one 
trade,  other  trades  within  the  same  local  council  should 
not  join  in  the  struggle  without  the  consent  of  their  re- 
spective international  unions.  Since  membership  in  the  De- 
partment was  made  compulsory  for  all  metal  trades  unions 
belonging  to  the  American  Federation,  the  Molders  affil- 

1*  Proceedings,  1907,  p.  18. 


112  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  CS^O 

iated  and  their  executive  board  urged  all  local  unions  to 
join  the  councils  in  their  districts.  In  191 1  the  board  in- 
structed the  international  officers  to  further  the  policy  of 
making  agreements  with  large  corporations  through  the 
Department  wherever  practicable.  The  191 2  convention 
recommended  that  an  effort  be  made  to  have  agreements 
with  employers  terminate  at  the  same  time  as  agreements 
between  the  same  employers  and  other  organizations.  It 
also  provided  that  if  the  skilled  melters  and  furnace  nien 
in  brass  foundries  were  willing  to  join  in  strikes  with  mold- 
ers,  the  executive  board  should  give  consideratioa  to  their 
financial  support. 

Relations  between  the  Holders  and  the  Department  were 
entirely  harmonious  until  191 3  when  the  Department  pro- 
vided that  general  strikes  by  the  metal  trades  could  be  called 
if  approved  by  a  two  thirds  vote  of  the  allied  unions  in 
any  local  council.  Any  organization  which  refused  to  obey 
the  strike  order  issued  by  the  president  and  executive  coun- 
cil of  the  Department  was  to  be  suspended.  No  union 
affiliated  was  to  sign  agreements  governing  shops  where 
other  affiliated  unions  were  interested  except  upon  approval 
of  the  Department's  executive  board.  The  Holders'  entire 
delegation  at  the  convention  where  this  rule  was  adopted 
were  in  strong  opposition  to  its  enactment.  They  held  that 
the  Department  thereby  became  superior  in  authority  to  the 
component  unions,  its  creators,  and  that  the  autonomy  of 
the  latter  was  destroyed.  Shortly  afterward  the  executive 
board  declared  that  the  union  would  not  follow  the  dictates 
of  the  Department  and  steps  were  taken  to  bring  the  ques- 
tion before  the  executive  council  of  the  American  Federa- 
tion of  Labor.  After  hearing  the  case  the  council  proved 
to  be  of  the  unanimous  opinion  that  the  Department's 
scheme  was  a  violation  of  the  constitution  of  the  Federa- 
tion which  guaranteed  autonomy  to  the  affiliated  unions.  At 
the  1914  convention  of  the  Federation  the  difficulty  was  com- 
posed.    Hembership  in  all  the  various  departments  of  that 


50l]  THE   CONTROL    OF    STRIKES  II3 

body  was  made  purely  voluntary.  Moreover,  no  depart- 
ment was  to  "  enact  any  law  or  adopt  any  policy  which  aims 
to  force  a  minority  of  the  affiliated  organizations  to  do 
something  to  which  they  are  opposed,  or  which  is  contrary 
to  their  methods  of  procedure  as  provided  by  their  re- 
spective constitutions."  ^^  Recent  relations  between  the  Hold- 
ers and  the  Department  have  been  amicable.  Local  unions 
have  joined  metal  trades  councils  and  in  some  places  sym- 
pathetic strikes  have  been  entered  into. 

The  question  may  now  be  asked.  Why  have  the  Molders 
always  been  so  conservative  about  undertaking  joint  strike 
action  with  allied  unions  ?  It  should  be  clearly  understood 
that  the  Molders  have  never  objected  to  sympathetic  strikes 
as  such  and  that  they  have  never  entered  into  agreements 
to  refrain  from  sympathetic  strikes.  They  have  merely  in- 
sisted that  they  should  be  governed  by  their  own  regulations 
rather  than  be  subject  to  the  desires  of  some  other  organ- 
ization. After  years  of  effort  they  have  succeeded  in  es- 
tablishing discipline  and  businesslike  methods.  A  splendid 
financial  system  has  been  developed.  National  and  local 
trade  agreements  have  been  negotiated  and  observed.  On 
the  other  hand,  some  of  the  other  metal  trades  unions  are  of 
recent  origin,  have  insufficient  discipline,  possess  small  finan- 
cial resources,^"  think  little  of  business  methods,  and  are 
numerically  weak.  If  the  Molders  were  compelled  to  go 
out  on  sympathetic  strike  every  time  an  allied  trade  called 
for  help,  they  would  soon  waste  their  strength.  The  weaker 
unions  could  offer  the  Molders  very  little  assistance. 

Ostracism  and  Lockouts. — Since  1876  it  has  been  pro- 
vided that  if  a  member  is  thrown  out  of  employment  for 
acting  as  a  committeeman,  for  following  out  the  instruc- 
tions of  his  union,  for  asking  such  prices  as  may  be  deemed 
proper,  "  or  for  any  differences  arising  therefrom  between 

18  International  Molders'  Journal,  December,  1914,  pp.  988-990. 

2°  On  two  occasions  when  joint  action  of  all  the  metal  trades 
unions  took  place,  it  was  found  shortly  after  the  strikes  occurred 
that  a  majority  of  the  unions  involved  were  unable  to  pay  strike 
benefits  to  their  members  (Ibid.,  December,  1913,  p.  1034). 

8 


114  "^^^   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  LS^^ 

employer  and  member,  or  if  a  member  is  ostracized  for 
union  principles,"  a  local  committee  shall  be  appointed  to 
inquire  into  the  case.  If  it  is  discovered  that  an  unwar- 
ranted discharge  has  taken  place,  the  international  presi- 
dent orders  weekly  strike  allowance  paid  the  member  until 
he  procures  employment,  or  until  such  time  as  the  executive 
board  deems  it  advisable  to  stop  the  allowance.  Members 
working  in  open  or  non-union  shops,  where  it  is  impossible 
to  enforce  union  rules,  have  not  been  allowed  to  obtain  os- 
tracism benefits,  if  discharged  for  refusal  to  violate  union 
principles,  unless  they  have  been  specifically  authorized  by 
local  unions  to  act  in  their  behalf.  Since  1912  ostracized 
members  have  been  paid  ten  dollars  per  week,  plus  the 
amount  of  the  weekly  dues.  Ostracism  benefits  have  been 
placed  higher  than  ordinary  strike  benefits  in  order  to  en- 
courage the  individual  unionist  to  stand  up  for  union  prin- 
ciples even  when  quite  alone  and  without  the  stimulus  of 
joint  action  by  all  the  men  in  his  shop. 

The  Holders  have  found  that  it  is  not  always  easy  to  dis- 
tinguish between  a  strike  and  a  lockout,  but  it  has  been 
necessary  to  make  a  distinction  on  account  of  the  difference 
in  the  application  of  benefits.  In  1874  President  Saffin 
ruled  that  a  lockout  took  place  in  the  case  of  "  an  employer 
demanding  of  members  that  they  shall  sign  contracts,  or 
that  they  shall  work  for  store  pay,  or  [who]  shall  force 
them  to  work  *  bucks '  [helpers]  or  quit,  or  demand  that 
they  shall  quit  the  union  or  the  shop."  ^^  This  decision  was 
upheld  by  the  convention.  In  1886  it  was  further  provided 
that  "  in  cases  of  lockouts  when  the  employer  proposes 
getting  his  work  made  in  shops  other  than  that  owned  by 
him,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  all  members  ...  to  refuse  to 
work  on  said  jobs,  in  which  case  they  shall  be  considered 
locked  out  or  upon  strike."  ^^  This  rule,  with  some  ampli- 
fications and  alterations,  has  been  continued  down  to  date. 

21  International  Journal,  July,  1874,  P-  4- 

22  Constitution,  1886,  art.  8,  sec.  7. 


5O3I  THE   CONTROL   OF    STRIKES  II5 

The  endorsement  of  the  executive  board  must  be  secured  at 
present  to  make  a  lockout  official. 

In  1870  the  union  provided  that  lockout  benefits  should 
not  be  paid  for  the  first  week  after  official  recognition  had 
been  accorded.  Later  on  it  was  decided  to  pay  benefits 
from  the  date  of  the  lockout,  and,  still  later,  to  pay  them 
from  the  date  when  a  shop  started  with  non-union  men. 
Finally,  the  executive  board  voted  in  1909  to  consider  each 
case  on  its  own  merits.  At  present  the  ordinary  strike 
funds  of  the  union  suffice  to  pay  all  lockout  and  ostracism 
benefits.  Lockout  benefits  have  always  been  of  the  same 
weekly  amounts  as  strike  benefits. 


CHAPTER  IX 

National  Collective  Bargaining 

The  first  strike  by  union  molders  began  in  Philadelphia 
on  May  i6,  1855,  and  involved  all  but  one  of  the  stove  and 
hollow-ware  shops  in  the  city.  The  strike  was  settled  when 
the  firms  met  the  men,  who  had  formed  what  later  became 
local  union  No.  i,  and  withdrew  the  demand  for  a  reduc- 
tion which  had  caused  the  difficulty.  A  second  strike  was 
called  in  Philadelphia  in  1857  which  proved  unsuccessful. 
In  1858  strikes  occurred  in  Providence,  Port  Chester  and 
Albany  to  regain  prices  paid  prior  to  the  panic  of  1857. 
The  Albany  employers  combined  in  a  "  Founders'  League  " 
to  fight  the  local  strike  and  even  went  so  far  as  to  try  to 
perfect  a  national  association  of  foundrymen.  They  failed 
in  the  latter  plan  largely  because  the  Philadelphia  employers, 
who  apparently  had  a  strong  association  of  their  own  with 
which  they  were  well  satisfied,  refused  to  enter  a  general 
combination.  During  the  next  few  years,  the  number  of 
strikes  increased  to  such  an  extent  as  to  cause  employers 
genuine  alarm  and  to  lead  them  to  organize  in  many  lo- 
.calities. 

In  1 861  it  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  union  that  "the 
foundry  employers  of  Massachusetts  have  formed  combi- 
nations, whereby  the  employees  from  one  shop  are  prevented 
from  going  to  work  in  another  without  the  consent  of  their 
•employer."  In  response  to  this  movement  the  union  de- 
clared that  "  we  look  on  such  combinations  on  the  part  of 
capital  against  labor  as  having  a  tendency  to  deprive  work- 
men of  that  liberty  to  which  they  are,  and  of  a  right  ought 
to  be,  entitled,  and  that  we  will  discountenance  and  oppose 
such  combinations  by  every  means  within  our  power. "^     It 

1  Proceedings,  1861,  p.  31. 

116 


505^  NATIONAL    COLLECTIVE   BARGAINING  II 7 

does  not  appear,  however,  that  any  disputes  arose  in  con- 
nection with  the  combinations  mentioned.  In  1863  seven- 
teen foundry  firms  in  Louisville,  New  Albany  and  Jeffer- 
sonville  formed  the  Iron  Founders'  and  Machine  Builders' 
Association  of  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio.  The  organization 
proposed  to  resist  all  restrictive  local  union  demands  and  to 
cooperate  with  similar  associations  in  other  cities  "  in  all  the 
measures  to  be  taken  in  our  or  their  own  defense."^  St. 
Louis  employers  organized  in  i860,  again  in  1862,  and  again 
in  1864,  for  the  express  purpose  of  "  smashing  the  union," 
but  they  accomplished  little  or  nothing. 

In  the  spring  of  1864  "several  parties  employing  bench 
molders  "  in  Connecticut  met  in  New  Haven  to  formulate  a 
plan  for  escaping  from  the  "  dictation "  of  unionism,  and 
organized  the  American  Iron  Founders'  Association.  At 
a  second  meeting  held  at  New  York  and  attended  by 
foundrymen  from  New  England,  New  York,  New  Jersey 
and  Pennsylvania,  it  was  the  consensus  of  opinion  that  "  the 
necessity  of  an  organization  of  employers  must  be  apparent 
to  all  who  desire  to  manage  their  own  business  without  being 
controlled  by  outside  '  committees '  or  '  strikes,'  and  that 
such  an  organization  would  be  beneficial  both  to  them  and 
to  their  employees."  After  some  discussion  it  was  decided 
to  extend  the  scope  of  the  association  so  as  to  include  the 
employers  of  floor  molders  and  future  meetings  were  ar- 
ranged for.^  In  the  spring  of  1865  the  principal  foundry- 
men  of  Detroit  and  vicinity  determined  to  "  break  up  the 
factious  interference  of  the  Trades'  Unions."  Jobs  were 
classified  and  maximum  wage  rates  were  agreed  upon. 
Molders  going  on  strike  at  one  plant  were  denied  admission 
to  any  other  shop  in  the  combination.     Through  a  circular 

2  Fincher's  Trades'  Review,  October  3,  1863.  Reprinted  in  Com- 
mons and  Andrews,  Documentary  History  of  American  Industrial 
Society,  vol.  ix,  pp.  89-97.  Men  going  on  strike  were  to  be  black- 
listed and  their  names  were  to  be  sent  to  similar  associations. 

3  Fincher's  Trades'  Review,  May  28,  1864.  Reprinted  in  Com- 
mons and  Andrews,  vol.  ix,  pp.  97-99. 


Il8  THE  INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [[506 

letter  sent  to  foundries  in  other  cities  an  effort  was  also 
made  to  blacklist  strikers  wherever  they  went.* 

So  general  became  the  organization  of  employers  that  in 
1865  President  Sylvis  called  attention  to  the  combinations 
then  existing  "  for  the  express  purpose  of  destroying  our 
union."  The  only  effect  of  the  movement  thus  far,  he  said, 
had  been  to  stimulate  the  organizing  activities  of  the  jour- 
neymen. Sylvis  concluded  by  challenging  the  hostile  forces 
to  a  trial  of  strength.^  In  the  following  year  the  gage  of 
battle  was  accepted  by  the  Iron  Founders'  Association  which 
brought  about  what  is  known  as  the  "  great  lockout."  This 
struggle  involved  ten  local  unions  whose  membership  were 
chiefly  employed  in  the  stove  branch,  and  extended  from 
Albany  and  Troy  to  Indianapolis  and  Richmond,  Virginia. 
About  1,800  strikers  figured  in  the  dispute.  The  main  points 
at  issue  were  the  employers'  demands  that  journeymen  work 
with  helpers,  that  union  shop  committees  be  given  up,  and 
that  foundrymen  should  determine  the  number  of  appren- 
tices. The  most  important  feature  of  the  lockout  was  an 
attempt  made  by  President  Sylvis  to  promote  an  under- 
standing between  the  organized  employers  and  the  union. 
During  1866  and  1867  the  Association  held  two  conventions, 
one  at  Albany  and  one  at  Cincinnati.  Sylvis  visited  Albany 
at  the  time  of  the  local  meeting  and  in  a  letter  asked  the 
convention  for  a  conference.  He  congratulated  the  em- 
ployers "upon  coming  together  for  the  purpose  of  organ- 
ization "  and  suggested  that  a  "  mutual  and  beneficial  under- 
standing" be  entered  into  for  the  purpose  of  harmonizing 
the  interests  of  the  foundrymen  and  their  employees.  No 
reply  was  made  to  this  communication,  but  the  employers' 
demands,  mentioned  above,  were  at  once  published,  and  the 
lockout  began.  "After  an  idleness  varying  from  one  to 
two  months  the  employers'  association  was  disrupted,  the 

*  Fincher's  Trades'  Review,  July  8,  1865.     Reprinted  in  Commons 
and  Andrews,  vol.  ix,  pp.  99-102. 
"  Proceedings,  1865,  p.  14. 


507]  NATIONAL    COLLECTIVE   BARGAINING  II9 

notices  were  withdrawn,  and  the  molders  returned  to 
work." « 

In  1872  the  National  Stove  Manufacturers'  Association 
was  organized.  The  Molders  at  once  addressed  a  congratu- 
latory resolution  to  this  body  commending  its  efforts  to  se- 
cure for  its  members  "  a  just  and  equitable  price  for  their 
wares,  sufficient  to  fully  compensate  them  for  the  capital 
invested,  and  the  labor  incident  to  making  their  business  a 
success."  Yet  the  Association  was  notified  that  the  union 
would  "  resist  by  all  lawful  means  any  and  every  effort 
made  to  deprive  the  molders  of  their  right  to  demand  and 
receive  a  fair  equivalent  for  their  labor,  or  to  abridge  their 
right  to  fix  a  price  for  that  labor."  '^  No  reply,  apparently, 
was  ever  received.  Ostensibly  the  National  Association  was 
organized  to  regulate  the  selling  prices  of  stoves,  to  pro- 
mote the  introduction  of  new  foundry  methods,  and  to 
diffuse  knowledge  concerning  the  trade.  Many  molders, 
however,  felt  that  "  part  of  its  mission  was  to  antagonize 
trade  associations,"  since  its  leaders,  for  the  most  part,  ran 
non-union  shops.  By  1876  this  view  had  gained  rather  gen- 
eral acceptance  in  union  ranks  and  it  was  openly  charged 
that  there  was  "  proof  positive  of  some  secret  arrangement 
between  bosses,  arrived  at  while  attending  their  convention," 
because,  after  each  meeting  of  the  Association,  "  war  was 
declared  against  the  molders  in  some  section."  * 

At  Troy  and  Albany  the  manufacturers  in  1877  demanded 
that  the  journeymen  accept  wage  reductions,  renounce  their 
union  membership,  sign  individual  contracts  and  employ 
helpers.  A  lockout  resulted  and  although  employers  else- 
where declared  that  they  were  not  in  the  combination,  "  it 
was  painfully  evident  such  was  not  the  case,  for  as  soon 

«  Frey  and  Commons,  "  Conciliation  in  the  Stove  Industry,"  Bulletin 
of  the  Bureau  of  Labor,  January,  1906,  p.  134.  A  unique  feature 
of  the  lockout  was  the  employment  by  Sylvis  of  "  a  small  secret 
police  force "  to   secure  information   of  the  employers'   movement. 

7  Proceedings,  1872,  p.  80.  Partly  because  they  feared  employers' 
associations,  in  1872  the  Molders  adopted  a  ritual  and  became 
temporarily  a  secret,  oath-bound  body. 

*  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  May,  1876,  p.  712. 


120  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  CS^^ 

as  a  shop  was  ready  to  start  [that  is,  for  spring  trade], 
South,  East,  or  West,  the  molders  found  the  same  odious 
demands  made  upon  them  "  coupled  with  the  notice  that  in 
the  future  there  would  be  nothing  but  open  shops.  Other 
lockouts  then  occurred  from  which  the  union  emerged  "  in- 
tact and  unconquered."  ^ 

After  1880  the  National  Association  displayed  increased 
signs  of  hostility  toward  the  union.  In  1882  one  of  its  mem- 
bers condemned  the  latter  for  "  its  one-sided,  cast-iron 
rules "  and  labeled  it  a  "  hydra-headed  power,  which 
threatens  the  best  interests  of  both  employer  and  em- 
ployee." ^^  In  1884  a  committee  of  the  Association,  report- 
ing on  the  "  subject  of  labor,"  accorded  "  all  honor  to  those 
courageous  men  who  have  maintained  or  recovered  control 
of  their  shops,"  thus  setting  a  "  brilliant  example  to  those  of 
us  whose  necks  are  still  under  the  galling  yoke  of  Trades 
Unionism — a  servitude  both  disgraceful  and  unprofitable." 
In  conclusion  the  committee  asked  that  something  be  done 
to  "  rid  us  of  this  dreadful  incubus."  '^'^  After  further  com- 
plaints had  been  registered  against  unionism  in  1885,  the 
National  Association  decided  in  the  following  year  to  form 
a  separate  organization,  known  as  the  Stove  Founders' 
National  Defense  Association,  for  the  distinct  purpose  of 
dealing  with  labor  questions. 

Members  of  the  National  Association  were  not  required  to 
join  the  Defense  Association  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  the 
latter  embraced  practically  all  the  larger  firms  in  the  stove 
and  furnace  industry. 

The  Stove  Founders'  National  Defense  Association. — The 
objects  of  the  Defense  Association  were  stated  to  be  "  re- 
sistance against  any  unjust  demands  "  of  workmen  "  and 
such  other  purposes  as  may  from  time  to  time  prove  or 

'  Ibid.,  December,  1877,  pp.  546-547.  In  1878  the  union  adopted 
a  "  visible  sign  .  .  .  for  the  use  of  travelling  members "  as  a 
measure  of  precaution  against  imposters  or  detectives  used  by 
hostile  employers. 

10  Ibid.,   November,    1882,  pp.    1-2, 

11  Ibid.,  February,  1884,  P-  lO- 


509^  NATIONAL    COLLECTIVE   BARGAINING  121 

appear  to  be  necessary  for  the  members  thereof  as  employers 
of  labor."  Its  members  obligated  themselves  to  oppose  un- 
fair demands  "  by  the  united  action  of  all  members."  For 
administrative  purposes  the  country  was  divided  into  four 
districts,  namely,  New  England,  the  North  Atlantic  Sea- 
board, the  Middle  West  and  the  South,  and  the  Trans- 
Mississippi.  The  by-laws  of  the  Association  provided  that 
district  committees  should  hear  and  pass  upon  labor  griev- 
ances, subject  to  appeal  by  members  to  the  general  executive 
committee.  If  the  investigating  committee  decided  a  labor 
grievance  in  favor  of  a  member  and  a  strike  resulted,  the 
committee  was  empowered  to  choose  one  of  three  methods 
of  defending  the  member,  namely :  ( i )  making  in  some 
other  shop  such  work  as  he  might  require,  (2)  procuring 
men  for  him  to  do  the  work  in  his  own  shop,  and  (3)  afford- 
ing him  compensation  for  loss  in  production.  Members 
were  subject  to  suspension  by  the  president  or  to  expulsion 
by  a  majority  vote  of  the  organization  for  "  refusal  or  fail- 
ure to  comply  with  the  requirements  of  the  committees  or 
officers  or  with  the  obligation  of  membership.  .  .  ."  ^^ 
Strong  central  control  thus  existed.  The  Association  was 
financed  by  regular  assessments  based  upon  the  number  of 
molders  employed  and  by  "  emergency  taxes."  An  officer 
known  as  the  commissioner,  later  called  the  secretar>',  was 
secured  to  act  as  the  active  labor  agent  of  the  Association, 
In  March,  1887,  the  molders  employed  by  the  Bridge  and 
Beach  Manufacturing  Company  of  St.  Louis  went  on  strike 
for  increased  piece  rates.  As  the  concern  was  a  member 
of  the  Association,  the  latter  promptly  came  to  the  Com- 
pany's support.  The  struck  patterns  were  sent  to  the  shops 
of  other  members  in  the  same  district,  whereupon  the  mold- 
ers in  these  shops  refused  to  handle  the  "  scab  "  patterns 
and  even  declined  to  make  other  jobs  while  such  patterns 
were  in  the  shops.  The  patterns  were  then  removed  to 
other  districts  where,  in  turn,  the  same  reception  awaited 

12  Frey  and  Commons,  pp.  143-144. 


122  THE  INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [5 10 

them.  Before  they  reached  the  second  district,  the  North 
Atlantic  Seaboard,  the  Holders'  executive  board  ordered 
members  therein  to  work  on  the  patterns  and,  at  the  same 
time,  it  asked  for  a  conference  with  representatives  of  the 
Association.  The  request  was  granted,  but  no  settlement 
could  be  reached.  The  employers  then  announced  that  their 
shops  would  close  indefinitely  "  and  what  began  as  a  series 
of  strikes  in  the  western  districts  ended  as  a  lockout  in  the 
eastern  districts."  About  5,000  molders  were  thrown  out  of 
work  in  fifteen  of  the  largest  stove-foundry  centers  between 
St.  Louis  and  Albany.  The  struggle  continued  until  June 
when  the  patterns  were  recalled  and  Bridge  and  Beach  had 
their  work  done  at  home  by  molders  furnished  by  the  As- 
sociation. In  other  shops  strikers  returned  to  work  under 
the  old  conditions.^' 

Both  parties  claimed  the  victory :  the  Association,  be- 
cause it  had  enabled  Bridge  and  Beach  to  make  their  pat- 
terns ;  the  union,  because  it  had  successfully  withstood  an 
evident  attempt  to  destroy  it.  "  Whatever  may  be  said  as 
to  the  claims  of  victory,  it  is  certain  that  each  party  was 
strongly  impressed  with  the  stability  of  the  opposing  organ- 
ization." ^^  During  the  next  four  years  there  were  only 
four  strikes  which  were  supported  by  the  Association.  One 
of  these  contests,  at  Pittsburgh  in  1890,  was  settled  by  the 
officers  of  the  Association  making  a  written  agreement  with 
the  local  union.  "  The  settlement  was  satisfactory  to  both 
sides,  and  made  it  quite  plain  that  if  an  agreement  could 
be  made  after  a  strike  had  been  called  and  losses  suffered, 
it  would  be  possible  to  make  just  as  satisfactory  an  agree- 
ment before  the  strike.  How  to  bring  about  such  an  agree- 
ment was  now  a  matter  of  frequent  consultation  between 
the  leading  members  of  both  organizations."  ^^  In  1888  it 
was  proposed  in  the  Molders'  convention  that  a  committee 
be  appointed  to  confer  with  a  like  committee  from  the  De- 

^'  Ibid.,  p.  144. 
1*  Ibid.,  p.   145. 
1"  Ibid.,  p.  146. 


51 13  NATIONAL    COLLECTIVE   BARGAINING  I23 

fense  Association  for  the  purpose  of  fixing  a  scale  of  prices. 
The  resolution  was  defeated,  but  the  idea  involved  in  it 
lived  on.  Prospects  for  a  conference  were  then  discussed 
unofficially,  and  finally  the  union  was  assured  that  the  Asso- 
ciation would  grant  a  request  for  a  joint  meeting  of  repre- 
sentatives. Accordingly,  the  1890  convention  instructed  the 
executive  board  to  ask  for  a  conference  and  empowered  it 
to  appoint  three  stove-plate  molders  to  assist  in  the  deliber- 
ations. 

On  March  25,  1891,  representatives  of  the  two  associa- 
tions met  in  Chicago.  Resolutions  were  drawn  up  to  gov- 
ern the  dealings  of  the  two  bodies  for  the  following  year. 
Strikes  and  lockouts  were  condemned  and  "the  principle 
of  arbitration  "  was  endorsed.  It  was  resolved  that  when- 
ever a  dispute  occurred  between  a  member  of  the  Associa- 
tion and  the  molders  in  his  employ,  when  a  majority  of  the 
latter  were  union  members,  which  could  not  be  settled 
amicably  between  the  two  parties,  the  case  in  question  should 
be  referred  to  the  presidents  of  the  two  associations  or  to 
their  deputies.  If  these  representatives  failed  to  effect  a 
satisfactory  settlement,  the  presidents,  by  mutual  agreement, 
were  authorized  to  summon  a  conference  committee,  com- 
posed of  three  members  from  each  side,  whose  decision  by 
a  majority  vote  was  to  "  be  final  and  binding  upon  each 
party  for  the  term  of  twelve  months."  Pending  the  inves- 
tigation and  adjudication  of  a  grievance  neither  party  was 
to  take  action.  No  vote  was  to  be  taken  in  conference  ex- 
cept by  a  full  committee  or  by  an  even  number  from  each  as- 
sociation." When  the  plan  adopted  by  the  conference  was 
submitted  to  the  two  organizations  for  vote,  it  was  adopted 
by  large  majorities  on  both  sides  with  the  unwritten  under- 
standing that  it  would  be  renewed  if  found  satisfactory. 
The  union  also  altered  its  strike  laws  in  conformity  with 
the  new  arrangement.     The  first  agreement  in  America  be- 

^*  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  March,  1891,  p.  4.  Since  1910  each 
party  has  been  entitled  to  six  members  on  the  committee. 


124  T^E   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [5 1 2 

tween  a  national  trade  union  and  a  national  employers'  as- 
sociation was  thus  established. 

While  the  1891  resolutions  provided  for  what  was  termed 
"  arbitration,"  in  reality  the  scheme  worked  out  was  one  of 
conciliation.  At  first  some  of  the  molders  favored  calling 
in  a  third  party  to  settle  disputes,  but  the  employers  objected 
to  this  plan  on  several  grounds.  An  odd  man,  it  was  pointed 
out,  would  probably  have  an  inadequate  knowledge  of  the 
stove  business  and  both  sides  would  be  tempted  to  play  upon 
his  ignorance  in  order  to  win.  Under  simple  conciliation  it 
would  be  impossible  for  one  party  to  deceive  the  other  so 
as  to  get  its  representatives  to  vote  against  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  trade  as  a  whole.  Again,  even  if  a  competent 
third  man  could  be  found  it  was  believed  that  it  would  be 
difficult  to  obtain  his  services.  Arbitration,  it  was  argued, 
was  also  likely  to  multiply  issues  and  to  foster  demands 
which  would  be  "  extreme,  unjust,  and  even  ridiculous." 
Finally,  the  foundrymen  felt  that,  apart  from  the  merits  of 
any  question  in  dispute,  the  odd  mati  would  be  inclined  to 
favor  the  labor  side.^^  Curiously  enough,  in  1910  the  found- 
rymen themselves  asked  for  the  creation  of  an  arbitrator. 
The  union  representatives  felt  satisfied  with  the  existing 
system  and  refused  to  make  a  change. 

With  but  two  exceptions  national  conferences  have  been 
held  annually  since  1891.  The  "  regular  "  conferences  were 
held  in  March  down  to  1908,  and  in  December  after  that 
date.  Occasionally,  special  conferences  have  also  been 
called.  The  agreement  itself  has  never  specified  when  con- 
ferences are  to  be  held  so  that  it  has  been  necessary  for 
one  side  to  request  the  other  for  the  privilege  of  meeting 
its  representatives.  At  no  time  has  such  a  request  been 
denied.  Agreements  relative  to  wages  have  been  made  for 
one  year  only,  subject  to  renewal,  whereas  agreements  relat- 
ing to  other  points  have  had  no  specified  duration.     At  pres- 

17  Ibid.,  July,  1901,  p.  400. 


513^  NATIONAL    COLLECTIVE   BARGAINING  I25 

ent  six  men  on  a  side  sit  in  the  conference.  The  Molders' 
conferees  have  always  been  chosen  by  the  executive  board, 
with  the  understanding  that  three  members  shall  be  selected 
from  the  "  sand  heap." 

In  1892  the  national  conference  began  to  legislate  upon 
several  questions  concerning  which  a  general  agreement 
seemed  desirable.  Piece  prices,  hours,  apprentices,  helpers, 
and  a  dozen  other  matters  have  since  been  passed  upon. 
No  local  grievance  has  ever  been  taken  up  for  consideration 
or  adjustment.  Neither  have  "  abstract  questions  of  the 
rights  or  obligations  of  either  side"  ever  been  discussed. 
The  conferences  have  always  been  devoted  "  to  the  discus- 
sion and  adoption  of  resolutions — general  in  character  and 
binding  upon  all  members  of  the  respective  organizations."  ^* 
Problems  of  the  most  serious  interest  to  both  sides  have  been 
thrashed  out  without  disrupting  friendly  relations.  A  spirit 
of  give  and  take  has  always  characterized  the  conferences. 
Neither  party  has  ever  insisted  upon  the  immediate  grant- 
ing of  demands  when  the  membership  of  the  other  has  not 
been  educated  to  see  the  justice  of  such  demands.  For 
example,  the  foundrymen  patiently  waited  through  confer- 
ence after  conference  until  the  rank  and  file  of  the  union 
finally  saw  the  need  of  a  higher  apprentice  ratio.  Again, 
seven  years  passed  before  a  satisfactory  system  had  been 
devised  for  pricing  work  made  on  molding  machines. 

Both  organizations  have  done  their  best  to  enforce  the 
national  agreements.  With  but  one  exception  all  disputes 
arising  in  shops  operated  by  association  members  have  been 
settled  locally  by  conferences  between  the  interested  parties 
or  between  the  two  presidents  or  their  deputies  who,  by 
the  way,  have  usually  been  one  of  the  union's  vice-presi- 
dents and  the  secretary  of  the  Association.  In  the  one 
case  noted,  a  foundryman  who  had  a  dispute  with  his  em- 
ployees over  a  reduction  in  piece  prices  had  the  grievance 
decided    against   him   by   the    investigating    deputies.     He 

18  Frey  and  Commons,  p.  154. 


126  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [^514 

appealed  to  the  "  conference  committee "  for  a  rehearing 
and  was  again  defeated.  He  then  took  the  law  in  his  own 
hands  and  placed  the  reduction  in  force.  He  was  at  once 
expelled  from  the  Association  and  his  molders  were  ordered 
on  strike.^®  Several  local  unions  have  been  suspended  by 
the  union  for  stopping  work  in  association  shops  contrary 
to  the  rules  of  the  conference  agreements.  No  authorized 
strikes  have  taken  place  in  shops  covered  by  the  agreements 
since  the  original  compact  of  1891  was  formulated. 

In  1898  the  union  asked  that  the  national  conference 
change  the  rule  limiting  the  jurisdiction  of  the  agreements 
to  association  shops  where  a  majority  of  the  Molders  were 
union  men,  since  action  was  thereby  prevented  on  disputes 
in  shops  where  a  fair  percentage  of  the  journeymen  were 
unionists.  The  request  was  favorably  received,  and  a  new 
rule  was  adopted  under  which  a  dispute  involving  any  union 
member  in  any  association  shop  might  be  adjusted  under  the 
conference  agreements  in  the  usual  way.  This  arrangement 
soon  induced  many  non-members  to  join  the  union  so  as  to 
secure  a  hearing  on  any  grievances  that  might  arise.  The 
national  conference  of  1900  was  attended  by  practically  all 
of  those  members  of  the  Association  who  still  ran  non- 
union shops.  At  this  meeting  the  union  requested  that  its 
rules  be  considered  binding  upon  these  members  as  on  other 
members  of  the  Association.  The  union  argued  that  it  was 
incongruous  for  an  employers'  association  which  recognized 
a  union  to  contain  members  who  continued  to  resort  to  indi- 
vidual bargaining.  While  some  non-union  manufacturers 
hesitated  to  agree  to  having  their  shops  unionized,  it  is  inter- 
esting to  note  that  shortly  after  this  conference  the  Bridge 
and  Beach  Company  asked  to  have  its  plant  organized  and 
requested  an  agreement  with  the  union. 

Until  191 7  the  conference  agreements  covered  stove  mold- 
ers alone.     The  union  attempted  several  times  after  1903 

18  Ibid.,  p.  155.  In  1917  the  Fuller-Warren  Company  of  Mil- 
waukee withdrew  from  the  Association  to  escape  expulsion  for 
refusing  to  carry  out  the  conference  agreements. 


515]  NATIONAL    COLLECTIVE   BARGAINING  1 27 

to  secure  recognition  for  coremakers,  but  its  efforts  were 
unsuccessful,  as  the  foundrymen  held  that  coremakers  in 
stove  shops  were  practically  unskilled  laborers.  Local  agree- 
ments alone  contained  rules  governing  coremakers'  work. 
At  the  conference  of  December,  191 7,  the  Association  finally 
agreed  to  "  recognize  the  coremaker  as  a  molder "  and  to 
refer  to  him  "  as  a  molder  working  at  coremaking."  ^° 
Molders  employed  on  hot  water  and  steam  heater  work  are 
not  covered  by  the  agreements. 

The  National  Founders'  Association. — In  May,  1896,  the 
American  Foundrymen's  Association  was  organized  by  sev- 
eral proprietors  of  machinery  and  jobbing  foundries  located 
within  the  United  States.  In  its  purpose  the  Association 
resembled  very  much  the  National  Stove  Manufacturers' 
Association.  At  first  no  efforts  were  made  to  formulate  a 
labor  policy.  On  January  26,  1898,  the  history  of  the  stove 
branch  was  again  paralleled  when  the  machinery  and  jobbing 
manufacturers  formed  a  separate  organization  to  deal  with 
labor  matters  under  the  name  of  the  National  Founders' 
Association.  The  members  of  the  Association  were  organ- 
ized into  districts  and  the  entire  body  was  governed  by  an 
administrative  council.  In  1901  a  commissioner  was  ap- 
pointed to  take  charge  of  the  details  of  the  labor  work.  The 
program  of  the  Association  proposed  the  same  means  for 
handling  labor  troubles  as  those  adopted  by  the  stove  found- 
ers in  1886.  Members  were  permitted  to  deal  with  unions 
as  they  preferred,  except  that  those  who  had  been  assisted 
by  the  Association  to  establish  the  open  shop  were  required 
to  continue  on  that  basis  for  at  least  one  year.  From  1890 
to  1904  about  ninety  per  cent  of  the  heavy  machinery  shops 
affiliated  with  the  Association  were  unionized  establish- 
ments, while  about  eighty  per  cent  of  the  agricultural  and 
malleable  shops  were  non-union. 

For  some  time  the  union  feared  that  the  new  organiza- 
tion would  be  hostile  to  it,  just  as  the  Defense  Association 

20  International  Molders'  Journal,  January,   1918,  p.  2. 


128  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [5x6 

had  been  originally.  While  he  prepared  for  war,  President 
Fox  promptly  opened  communication  with  President  Gates 
of  the  Founders,  cited  the  results  of  the  agreement  with 
the  Defense  Association  and  proposed  the  adoption  of  a 
similar  arrangement  in  the  machinery  and  jobbing  branch. 
In  response  to  this  advance  the  Founders  at  their  annual 
meeting  in  February,  1899,  appointed  a  committee  to  meet 
the  union  in  conference.  On  March  8,  1899,  seven  foundry- 
men  and  six  molders  met  in  New  York  City  and  agreed  to 
a  set  of  resolutions.  The  "  principle  of  arbitration "  was 
endorsed,  although  a  plan  for  conciliation  was  in  reality 
adopted.  It  was  provided  that  "  in  event  of  a  dispute  be- 
tween the  members  of  the  respective  organizations,"  a 
"  reasonable  effort "  was  to  be  made  "  by  the  parties  di- 
rectly at  interest  to  effect  a  satisfactory  adjustment  of  the 
difficulty."  Failing  in  this,  either  party  had  the  right  to  ask 
reference  of  the  dispute  to  the  "  committee  of  arbitration," 
consisting  of  the  presidents  of  the  two  associations,  or  their 
deputies,  and  two  other  representatives  from  each  organ- 
ization appointed  by  the  respective  presidents.  A  majority 
vote  of  this  committee  was  to  effect  a  final  settlement.  Dur- 
ing the  period  of  adjudication  there  was  to  be  no  cessation 
of  work.^^  National  conferences  of  the  parties  to  the  agree- 
ment were  to  be  called  upon  the  application  of  either  side. 
At  these  meetings  each  group  was  awarded  an  equal  voting 
representation.  As  in  the  agreement  with  the  Defense  As- 
sociation, machinery  was  set  up  for  the  settlement  of  local 
disputes  and  the  way  was  left  open  for  the  establishment 
of  national  rules.  Both  organizations  Ratified  'the  pro- 
posed program,  which  thereafter  became  known  as  the 
"New  York  Agreement." 

For  a  brief  period  the  agreement  seemed  to  operate  suc- 
cessfully. Many  foundrymen,  who  had  been  running  open 
shops,  consented  to  make  local  agreements  in  accord  with 

21  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  April,  1899,  p.  157. 


517J  NATIONAL    COLLECTIVE   BARGAINING  1 29 

the  general  agreement.^^  The  union  met  these  advances  by 
ordering  back  to  work  all  molders  going  on  strike  in  shops 
affiliated  with  the  Association.  While  there  were  surface 
indications  of  harmony,  it  was  not  long  before  serious 
trouble  between  the  two  associations  emerged.  In  June, 
1899,  a  second  conference  was  held  at  which  the  foundry- 
men  suggested  the  appointment  of  a  special  committee  to 
obtain  data  and  "  prepare  a  schedule  of  wages  they  would 
recommend  to  be  adopted  by  the  two  associations,  the  same 
to  be  graded  and  arranged  as  in  their  judgment  will  best 
protect  the  interests  of  all  parties."  When  the  union  ob- 
jected that  this  proposal  contemplated  wage  differentials 
which  would  tend  to  destroy  standard  rates  by  inviting  "  a 
general  gravitation  to  the  lowest  level,"  the  foundrymen  re- 
fused to  sanction  a  proposal  for  recognizing  "  the  principle 
of  a  minimum  wage,"  the  application  of  which  was  to  be  so 
made  as  to  give  "  due  consideration  ...  to  the  diversified 
nature  of  the  work."  ^^  The  dispute  over  differentials  ver- 
sus the  minimum  wage  continued  to  come  up  in  subsequent 
conferences.  Out  of  it  grew  more  and  more  hostility  be- 
tween the  two  parties,  both  of  which  stubbornly  stood  by 
their  chosen  programs. 

In  June,  1900,  a  third  conference  was  held.  The  Asso- 
ciation endeavored,  through  what  were  later  called  the  "  De- 
troit Resolutions,"  to  obtain  recognition  of  the  employer's 
right  to  pay  either  day  or  piece  rates  and  to  employ  whom- 
soever he  pleased.  Since  these  measures,  if  adopted,  would 
have  meant  a  lessening  of  union  control  over  wages  and  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  open  shop,  the  union  representa- 
tives refused  to  accept  them.  Naturally,  this  clash  did  not 
improve  the  relations  between  the  two  associations.  Miss 
M.  L.  Stecker,  who  has  made  a  detailed  study  of  the  ques- 
tion, concludes  that  the  trouble  at  this  time  and  at  later 


22  F.  W.  Hilbert,  "  Trade  Union  Agreements  in  the  Iron  Molders' 
Union,"  in  Hollander  and  Barnett,  Studies  in  American  Trade 
Unionism,    pp.    233-234. 

23  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  July,  1899,  p.  349. 


130  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS   UNION  CS^S 

periods  arose  because  the  union  would  not  "  give  up  or  mod- 
ify any  part  of  its  fundamental  law."^*  She  fails  to  com- 
ment, however,  upon  the  lack  of  bargaining  sense  displayed 
by  the  Association  in  making  peremptory  demands  on  the 
union.  The  foundrymen  took  an  aggressive  attitude  at  the 
very  start  and,  from  first  to  last,  demanded  much  more  than 
they  could  reasonably  expect.  Moreover,  at  no  time  in  the 
negotiations  did  they  express  a  willingness  to  recognize  even 
one  union  rule  of  any  importance.  If  the  union  was  obsti- 
nate, the  Association,  as  the  younger  organization,  was  guilty 
of  aggressiveness  in  imperiously  presenting  its  "  requests." 
It  may  be  well  at  this  point  to  explain  some  of  the  con- 
ditions which  caused  the  friction  between  the  Association 
and  the  union.  The  matter  can  best  be  explained  by  con- 
trasting the  conditions  in  the  machinery  trade  with  those 
which  obtained  in  the  stove  trade.  In  the  latter,  the  mem- 
bers were  "  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  the  same  kind  of 
goods,"  they  had  "  much  in  common  in  their  business  meth- 
ods and  requirements,  and  their  relations  with  labor  could 
more  easily  be  governed  by  general  rules."  In  the  Founders' 
Association,  on  the  other  hand,  the  members  were  "  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  everything  from  immense  fly-wheels 
to  tea  kettles."  So  dissimilar  were  their  lines  of  business 
that  it  was  very  difficult  to  "  formulate  a  general  plan  satis- 
factory to  all."  Consequently  their  organization  endeavored 
to  obtain  concessions  that  would  allow  the  foundrymen  full 
sway  in  their  establishments  for  making  labor  adjustments 
to  suit  peculiar  conditions.  Again,  the  Defense  Association 
was  composed  mainly  of  the  larger  stove  foundries,  while  the 
Founders'  Association  embraced  shops  of  all  sizes  and,  be- 
sides, it  contained  some  stove  foundries  whose  owners  were 
"  unable,  or  unwilling,  to  enter  the  former  Association." 
The  small  f oundryman,  like  other  small  employers,  was  least 
disposed  to  concede  anything  to  union  demands.  The  larger 
interests,  in  part,  at  least,  felt  it  advisable  to  meet  labor 

2*  Miss  M.  L.  Sleeker,  "  The  National  Founders'  Association,"  in 
the  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  vol.  xxx,  1916,  p.  357. 


519^  NATIONAL    COLLECTIVE   BARGAINING  I3I 

halfway.  Thus  there  were  two  diverse  elements  in  the 
Founders'  Association,  "  one  desiring  closer  relations  with  the 
union,  for  the  sake  of  peace  and  harmony,  and  the  other  de- 
siring to  use  the  immense  power  of  the  Association  to  check, 
circumvent,  or  crush  the  power  of  the  union."  ^^  As  time 
went  on  the  influence  of  the  smaller  proprietors  came  to  be 
felt  more  and  more,  so  that  the  breach  between  the  two  or- 
ganizations was  continually  widened. 

In  the  fall  of  1900  there  came  the  first  serious  break  in 
the  relations  of  the  parties  to  the  Agreement.  Demands  had 
been  made  for  increased  wages  in  Chicago,  Cincinnati,  St. 
Louis,  and  Cleveland,  and  had  been  referred  in  the  usual 
manner  to  the  conference  board,  which  was  unable  to  agree. 
After  all  peaceful  means  provided  had  been  exhausted  in 
attempting  to  reach  a  settlement,  the  dispute  was  left  to  the 
decision  of  force.  The  two  organizations  came  into  conflict 
in  Cleveland  in  the  strike  of  six  hundred  molders,  including 
all  the  local  foundries  belonging  to  the  Founders'  Associa- 
tion. After  a  bitter  contest  of  six  weeks,  which  cost  the 
Association  alone  about  $125,000,  the  dispute  was  referred 
to  a  special  committee,  and  an  agreement  was  reached  where- 
by the  molders  secured  an  increase  in  pay  and  the  discharge 
of  the  non-union  men  employed  during  the  strike.  The 
founders  on  their  part  secured  a  differential  in  the  wage  rate 
between  bench  and  floor  molders,  and  some  concessions  in 
regard  to  working  conditions  in  the  foundries.  Three  mem- 
bers of  the  Association  in  Cleveland  refused  to  be  bound  by 
the  agreement,  and  continued  operations  with  their  non- 
union molders.  The  president  of  the  Association  stated  that 
the  constitution  of  the  organization  did  not  give  the  power 
to  compel  these  members  to  abide  by  the  agreement.  For  a 
time  the  abrogation  of  the  agreement  was  threatened,  but  the 
next  general  conference  tried  to  patch  things  up  by  adopting 

25  Hilbert,  p.  234.  Durinp:  the  early  years  of  the  Association 
tremendous  efforts  were  made  to  increase  its  membership.  "  No 
method  of  selection  was  used  and  bad  risks  frequently  were  taken." 
Some  employers  who  were  notorious  for  always  having  strikes  were 
admitted   (Stecker,  p.  371). 


132  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [^520 

a  resolution  reaffirming  its  adherence  to  the  New  York 
Agreement  and  expressing  faith  in  the  ability  of  the  con- 
tracting parties  ultimately  to  smooth  out  all  points  of  differ- 
ence between  them.^® 

From  time  to  time  after  1900  complaint  was  made  that 
members  of  the  Association  in  various  localities  refused  to 
meet  union  officers  in  conference  and  that  other  members 
disdained  to  recognize  local  wage  scales  or  discharged  union 
shop  committees.  An  even  more  objectionable  practice  de- 
veloped, however,  when  certain  members  of  the  Association 
inaugurated  important  changes  in  shop  practices  and  meth- 
ods without  the  consent  of  the  molders  and  even  in  spite  of 
their  protests.  The  union  demanded  that  all  proposed 
changes  affecting  labor  within  a  shop  operated  by  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Association,  if  unacceptable  to  the  molders,  should 
first  be  taken  up  in  local  conference  before  they  were  ac- 
tually inaugurated.  At  an  informal  conference  held  in 
April,  1902,  the  Association's  representatives  promised  to 
present  the  union's  contention  before  their  administrative 
council  at  its  next  meeting.  When  the  next  regular  confer- 
ence was  held  in  the  following  October,  however,  the  Asso- 
ciation's representatives^  refused  to  discuss  any  interpreta- 
tion of  the  New  York  Agreement  and  insisted  that  the  two 
parties  must  first  adopt  general  rules  respecting  molding 
machinery,  apprentices,  piece  work,  wage  differentials,  and 
other  technical  problems.  They  declared  that  they  did  not 
wish  at  the  time  to  fix  any  of  the  details  of  settlement  on 
the  matters  mentioned,  but  that  they  merely  sought  some 
understanding  as  to  the  "  broad  principles "  involved  in 
them.  As  the  union  felt  that  the  foundrymen  were  aiming 
at  the  abolition  of  its  trade  regulations,  it  refused  to  favor 
the  proposition. 

One  thing,  however,  was  accomplished  by  this  conference. 
A  resolution  was  adopted  declaring  the  necessity  for  a  gen- 
eral form  of  agreement,  national  in  character,  for  each  class 

28Hilbert,  pp.  234-235. 


52 ij  NATIONAL    COLLECTIVE   BARGAINING  1 33 

of  foundries,  covering,  as  far  as  possible,  all  points  of  mu- 
tual interest,  subject  to  such  modifications  in  detail  as  might 
prove  necessary  to  meet  conditions  in  particular  districts. 
At  first  efforts  were  to  be  confined  exclusively  to  the  formu- 
lation of  a  wage  agreement  covering  the  jobbing  and  ma- 
chinery foundries  in  accordance  with  a  classification  which 
had  already  been  made  by  the  Association.^^  This  plan  for 
district  agreements  applicable  to  various  classes  of  foundries 
might  have  been  successful  if  an  efifort  had  ever  been  made 
to  put  it  into  operation.  A  national  agreement  for  all 
foundries  would  doubtless  have  proved  a  failure  owing  to 
the  diversified  character  of  the  business  interests  connected 
with  the  Founders'  Association.  Nothing  was  ever  done, 
however,  to  carry  out  the  proposed  plan,  although  it  was 
endorsed  at  the  convention  of  the  Association  in  November, 
1902.  But  while  the  Association  took  this  action,  it  also 
instructed  its  administrative  council  to  make  no  more  local 
agreements,  and  it  again  expressed  itself  as  favorable  to  a 
national  agreement,  provided  the  Holders  would  consent 
to  the  following: 

Equitable  conditions  relating  to  apprentices,  restriction  of  out- 
put, set  day's  work,  limitation  on  a  man's  earning  capacity,  abolish- 
ing of  fines  imposed  on  molders  for  the  purpose  of  limiting  an 
individual  molder's  production,  the  right  of  an  employer  to  em- 
ploy molding  machines  or  any  other  foundry  appliances  in  accord- 
ance with  his  best  judgment  and  to  maintain  equitable  piece-work 
and  premium  systems,  the  abolition  of  a  flat  minimum  wage  rate 
and  the  establishment  of  a  differential  wage  rate  for  molders.^s 

At  a  conference  in  March,  1903,  the  representatives  of 
the  Association  offered  a  "  standard  agreement "  of  this 
character,  together  with  a  rule  dealing  with  sympathetic 
strikes.  In  case  the  union  accepted  the  specific  proposi- 
tions of  the  agreement,  the  Association  offered  to  concede 
a  shorter  workday,  which  it  had  previously  declared  to  be 
a  matter  for  local  adjustment  only.  The  union,  however, 
urged    the    continuance    of    the    New    York    Agreement, 

27  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  November,  1902,  p.  942. 

28  Ibid.,  December,  1902,  p.  1035. 


134  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS   UNION  [^522 

amended  to  prohibit  the  change  of  established  shop  prac- 
tices without  the  consent  of  the  molders  involved,  and  re- 
quested the  establishment  of  a  nine-hour  day  on  its  own 
merits,  time-and-a-half  for  overtime  and  some  kind  of  a 
basic  wage.  No  agreement  was  reached  as  neither  party 
was  willing  to  recede  from  its  position.^^ 

In  February,  1904,  another  general  conference  was  held. 
At  this  meeting  the  spokesman  for  the  Association  declared 
that  although  the  New  York  Agreement  provided  that  there 
should  be  no  cessation  of  work  during  the  adjudication  of 
a  dispute,  he  had  a  record  of  forty-seven  different  occa- 
sions where  union  members  had  violated  the  rule.  He  ad- 
mitted that  in  these  cases  the  men  had  been  ordered  back 
to  work  by  their  international  officers,  yet  he  claimed  the 
agreement  had  been  broken  notwithstanding  this  fact.  In 
reply,  the  union  representatives  expressed  their  disapproval 
of  outlaw  strikes  and  then  raised  their  customary  complaint 
about  unauthorized  changes  in  shop  practices.  The  latter 
matter  was  made  the  subject  of  a  prolonged  debate  but  no 
common  ground  of  understanding  could  be  reached  in  re- 
gard to  it.  The  Association's  offer  of  its  national  "  stand- 
ing agreement"  was  then  taken  up.  The  Holders'  repre- 
sentatives were  not  willing  to  give  up  what  they  conceived 
to  be  a  large  part  of  their  control  over  the  trade,  although 
they  were  perfectly  willing  to  discuss  plans  for  a  shorter 
day  and  regulations  dealing  with  the  standard  rate.  Six 
days,  in  all,  were  consumed  by  the  conference.  During  its 
course  there  were  many  charges  of  bad  faith  by  both  sides. 
It  was  evident  that  a  feeling  of  hostility  had  developed. 
Following  this  conference  the  Association's  administrative 
council  instructed  its  members  to  make  no  further  agree- 
ments with  union  molders  unless  the  stipulations  of  the 
"  standard  agreement "  were  embodied  therein.  In  no  case 
did  the  unions  consent  to  this  plan  and,  accordingly,  the 
shops  controlled  by  the  Association  continued  in  operation 
without  any  agreements  being  signed. 

29  Ibid.,  May,  1903,  pp.  347-348. 


523I]  NATIONAL    COLLECTIVE   BARGAINING  I35 

While  the  relations  between  the  two  associations  were 
thus  strained,  another  national  conference  was  held  at  Cin- 
cinnati in  September,  1904,  with  the  interpretation  of  the 
New  York  Agreement  once  more  as  the  main  issue.  It 
was  felt  that  if  this  point  could  be  adequately  dealt  with 
the  parties  might  be  able  to  get  along  somehow  until  the 
difficulties  concerning  trade  regulations  were  worked  out 
in  further  conferences.  The  meeting  seemingly  resulted 
favorably  for  the  Holders,  as  the  following  interpretation 
was  adopted : 

If  any  change,  whether  of  wage  rate,  shop  practice  or  conditions, 
or  any  other  change  affecting  the  relations  or  the  interests  of  the 
members  of  the  parties  to  the  New  York  Agreement  is  proposed 
by  one  of  the  parties  thereto  to  which  objection  or  protest  is 
raised  by  the  other  party,  it  is  understood  and  agreed  that  the 
status  then  existing,  that  is,  the  status  immediately  preceding 
the  proposed  change,  shall  not  be  disturbed  by  either  party  pending 
reference  and  decision  as  provided  in  the  New  York  Agreement.^" 

In  spite  of  this  apparent  settlement  of  one  of  the  most 
serious  problems  confronting  the  contracting  parties,  the 
Founders'  Association  at  its  convention  in  the  following 
November  abrogated  the  New  York  Agreement  and  an- 
nounced its  intention  of  putting  into  operation  a  policy  based 
upon  the  "  standard  form  of  agreement."  The  first  pro- 
vision of  the  plan  forbade  limitation  of  output  of  any  sort. 
Next  it  was  declared  that  all  matters  relating  to  wage  sys- 
tems, types  or  classes  of  workmen  employed,  apprentices, 
helpers,  handy-men,  and  machines  were  to  be  left  to  the 
employer's  sole  decision.  No  arbitration  or  conciliation 
proceedings  were  to  be  entered  into  with  strikers  nor  were 
outsiders,  such  as  officers  of  the  International  Union,  to  be 
admitted  to  any  conference  between  members  and  their  em- 
ployees. Finally,  wages  were  to  be  agreed  upon  mutually 
between  members  and  their  labor  force,  the  terms  to  be  in 
accord  with  local  and  shop  conditions.  If  local  unions  of 
molders  wished  to  accept  these  provisions,  the  Association 
interposed  no  objection  to  its  members  making  agreements 

3«  Ibid.,  November,  1904,  p.  829. 


136  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [^524 

with  them.  Otherwise,  no  agreements  were  to  be  signed. 
In  short,  the  Association  decided  to  establish  the  open 
shop.^^ 

After  the  abrogation  of  the  agreement  the  two  organ- 
izations plunged  into  a  bitter  struggle.  Prolonged  and  ex- 
pensive strikes  and  lockouts  occurred.  For  a  time  the  em- 
ployers had  the  upper  hand  since  an  open-shop  wave  was 
then  sweeping  "the  country  in  all  lines  of  industry.  Grad- 
ually, however,  the  union  began  to  gain  ground  and  ul- 
timately it  succeeded  in  getting  many  members  of  the  As- 
sociation to  sign  agreements,  either  as  individual  foundry- 
men  or  as  members  of  local  associations.  At  the  present 
time  the  union  appears  to  have  weathered  the  storm  quite 
safely  and  to  be  reasonably  content  with  its  position.  In 
1916  the  Association  claimed  to  have  in  the  shops  of  its 
members  about  one  eighth  of  the  molders  and  coremakers 
of  the  country.  It  also  estimated  that  about  eighty-five 
per  cent  of  its  members  ran  open  shops.^^  If  the  figures 
given  out  by  the  Association  are  correct,  it  is  evident  that 
association  shops  have  made  a  considerably  increased  use 
of  unskilled  or  comparatively  unskilled  labor  since  1904. 

31  The  Founders'  Association  contained  many  members  who  also 
belonged  to  such  anti-union  organizations  as  the  National  Associ- 
ation of  Manufacturers,  the  National  Metal  Trades'  Association, 
and  the  Citizens'  Industrial  Association  of  America.  It  is  further 
worth  observing  that  a  dull  season  in  the  trade  arrived  in  1904, 
making  the  time  particularly  opportune  for  breaking  off  friendly 
relations  with  the  union. 

32  In  ipi2  the  Association  aided  twenty-one  members  in  labor 
disputes.  In  1913  it  aided  thirty-two.  In  1914  only  five  members 
received  assistance. 


CHAPTER  X 

The  Standard  Rate 

"  In  order  to  make  any  effective  regulation  concerning 
the  price  at  which  workmen  in  the  trade  shall  sell  their 
labor  to  the  employers,  it  is  necessary  for  a  union  to  for- 
mulate or  adopt  a  measure  for  the  labor  which  is  to  be  sold 
and  to  fix  a  price  for  it.  This  price  is  ordinarily  called  a 
'  standard '  or  *  minimum '  rate.  Below  that  rate  no  work- 
man in  the  union  is  allowed  to  sell  his  labor.  The  problems 
which  a  trade  union  encounters  in  formulating  a  standard 
rate  differ  widely  according  to  the  nature  of  the  rate  in- 
volved, i.e.,  whether  it  is  a  piece  rate  or  a  time  rate.  With 
a  price  rate,  it  is  the  product  that  is  to  be  standardized.  The 
varieties  of  product  must  be  classified,  the  work  must  be  de- 
fined, and  a  system  of  measurement  must  be  adopted.  On 
the  other  hand,  with  a  time  rate,  the  difficulty  lies  in  the  diff- 
ering capacities  of  the  workmen."  ^ 

One  of  the  earliest  rules  of  the  Molders'  Union  provided 
that  no  member  should  endanger  the  job  of  another  mem- 
ber by  working  at  a  lower  rate  of  pay  or  even  offering  to 
do  so.  As  far  as  possible  local  unions  have  always  tried  to 
secure  the  inclusion  of  a  specified  standard  wage  in  their 
trade  agreements,  but  not  until  1902  was  it  made  obligatory 
upon  international  officers  to  see  that  all  agreements  called 
for  such  a  wage.  The  standard  rate  of  the  Molders  is  a 
minimum  rate.  Foundrymen  have  always  been  at  liberty 
to  pay  their  men  above  the  scale. 

Piece  Rates. — Piece  work  in  the  foundry  industry  has 
obtained  chiefly  in  the  stove  branch  where  it  has  undoubt- 
edly been  "  as  old  as  the  industry   itself."     Stove  manu- 

i  Barnett,  "  The  Printers :  A  Study  in  American  Trade  Unionism," 
in  Publications  of  the  American  Economic  Association,  vol.  x,  1909, 
pp.  108-109. 

M7 


138  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  CS^^ 

facture  has  always  been  particularly  well  adapted  to  the 
piece  system.  Stove  patterns  are  made  repeatedly.  They 
enjoy  a  run  for  at  least  one  season  and,  when  a  popular 
style  of  stove  has  been  produced,  they  may  run  for  several 
years.  Again,  the  number  of  pieces  in  a  stove  or  furnace 
is  comparatively  small.  It  is  thus  fairly  easy  to  adjust 
piece  prices  in  a  stove  shop.  The  steady  output  of  rela- 
tively few  castings  gives  an  opportunity  to  gauge  the  work- 
ing time  on  each  unit  of  product.  Furthermore,  owing  to 
their  specialization  on  a  few  patterns,  stove  molders  do 
not  suffer  the  delays  attendant  upon  turning  from  one  job 
to  another.  This  condition  of  aflfairs  enables  them  to 
learn  how  to  put  up  a  flask  in  the  quickest  possible  time. 

In  the  typical  jobbing  and  machinery  shop  a  large  number 
of  patterns  may  be  used  and  the  molders  may  be  required 
to  take  up  new  jobs  every  few  days.  In  jobbing  foundries, 
especially,  new  patterns  may  be  introduced  with  consider- 
able frequency.  The  constant  introduction  and  discard  of 
patterns  makes  it  difficult  to  tell  just  what  the  rate  for  one 
casting  ought  to  be  as  compared  with  another  since  suffi- 
cient experience  in  making  any  one  casting  may  be  lacking. 
The  repeated  fixing  of  new  prices  would  cause  endless  bar- 
gaining and  the  price  lists  would  be  interminably  long  and 
complicated  if  the  piece  system  were  used.  For  these 
reasons  day  work  has  been  found  best  in  jobbing  and  ma- 
chinery shops  of  the  ordinary  sort.  Within  recent  years 
piece  work  has  made  some  headway  in  certain  types  of 
jobbing  and  machinery  shops.  "  Specialty  shops,"  such  as 
foundries  which  make  nothing  but  parts  for  a  particular 
automobile,  have  introduced  the  piece  system  since  they  run 
the  year  round  on  a  few  patterns  only.  Wherever  a  few 
patterns  have  been  made  repeatedly  by  floor  or  bench  mold- 
ers or  by  molding-machine  operators,  conditions  have  been 
favorable  for  the  payment  of  piece  prices. 

Piece  prices  in  the  stove  branch  were  originally  paid 
by  the  pound  or  ton.  "  The  growing  diversification  in  the 
patterns  of  stoves  soon  made  it  necessary,  however,  to  fix 


527^  THE  STANDARD  RATE  139 

separate  prices  for  each  kind  of  stove,  and  thereafter,  as 
the  subdivision  of  the  work  in  the  making  of  stoves  pro- 
ceeded, for  each  piece  of  the  stove."  ^  When  the  total 
price  for  making  a  stove  was  divided  among  the  several 
pieces  it  became  customary  to  call  the  piece  prices  "  board 
prices  "  from  the  fact  that  each  pattern  was  placed  upon 
what  was  called  a  "  follow  board."  Accordingly,  when- 
ever the  molders  obtained  an  increase  in  wages,  they  were 
granted  a  certain  per  cent  additional  upon  "  board  prices." 

The  regulation  of  piece-price  adjustment  in  the  stove 
industry  has  been  established  under  the  conference  agree- 
ments between  the  union  and  the  Stove  Founders'  National 
Defense  Association.  In  1892  it  was  decided  at  the  second 
conference  that  "  the  general  rate  of  molders'  wages  should 
be  established  for  each  year  without  change."  If  either 
party  desired  alteration  of  the  wages  paid,  it  was  required 
to  give  notice  at  least  thirty  days  before  the  end  of  the  agree- 
ment year,  otherwise,  the  wages  current  were  to  remain  in 
force  during  the  coming  year.  Under  these  arrangements 
the  existing  board  prices  in  the  shops  controlled  by  the  Asso- 
ciation were  to  be  taken  as  a  standard.  It  was  left  for  the 
annual  conferences  to  decide  whether  such  prices  were  to 
be  continued  or  whether  a  certain  percentage  was  to  be 
added  to,  or  subtracted  from,  them.  Since  1899  the  Asso- 
ciation has  granted  increases  at  ten  of  the  conferences. 
The  increases  granted  since  1916  have  been  based  upon 
the  original  1892  prices  plus  the  percentages  already  gained. 

During  the  early  years  of  unionism  there  were  many 
inequalities  in  the  prices  paid  for  castings  in  the  same  shop 
and  district.  Whenever  foundrymen  secured  the  upper 
hand,  they  cut  as  many  prices  as  possible  and  when  the 
unions  obtained  the  advantage  they  forced  up  prices  upon 
certain  pieces  or  upon  an  entire  class  of  stoves.  When 
new  work  came  into  a  shop  the  molding  prices  were  set 
without  much   relation  to  the  prices   previously  paid   for 

2  D.  A.  McCabe,  "  The  Standard  Rate  in  American  Trade  Unions," 
p.  47,  in  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies,  Series  XXX,  No.  2, 
1912. 


140  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [528 

similar  castings  but  with  regard  largely  to  the  bargaining 
strength  of  employer  and  union.  It  soon  became  the  policy 
of  local  unions,  not  merely  to  secure  higher  prices,  but  also 
to  equalize  prices  on  a  basis  of  the  labor  and  skill  involved 
in  different  jobs.  In  1862  local  union  No.  i  of  Philadel- 
phia gave  up  a  demand  for  a  general  increase  on  all  cast- 
ings for  an  "  equalization  of  stove  prices,  .  .  .  bringing  the 
lower  up  to  the  higher."  ^  Other  local  unions  followed  the 
same  policy,  yet  even  in  1891  there  were  many  cases  of  in- 
equality in  the  molding  prices  paid  in  a  single  foundry, 
while  "prices  paid  for  similar  work  made  in  separate 
foundries  were  subject  to  inequalities,  at  times  amounting 
to  40  per  cent  of  the  total  price."  *  At  the  1892  conference 
between  the  union  and  the  Defense  Association  the  follow- 
ing resolutions  relative  to  price  equalization  were  adopted: 

The  present  established  price  of  work  in  any  shop  should  be 
the  basis  for  the  determination  of  the  prices  of  new  work  of 
similar  character  and  grade. 

When  new  work  of  a  character  or  grade  different  from  that 
previously  made  is  introduced  into  the  shop,  the  basis  of  price 
should  be  the  average  paid  for  goods  of  similar  grade  or  character 
by  competitive  founders.  "  Competitors  "  or  "  competitive  founders," 
as  applied  to  stove  manufacturers,  are  firms  disposing  of  goods 
of  similar  grade  in  the  same  market,  and  not  necessarily  firms 
manufacturing  in  the  same  district. 

Any  existing  inequahty  in  present  prices  of  molding  in  a  foundry 
or  between  two  or  more  foundries  should  be  adjusted  as  soon 
as  practicable  upon  the  basis  set  forth  in  the  foregoing  paragraphs, 
by  mutual  agreement  or  by  the  decision  of  the  adjustment  com- 
mittees provided  by  the  conference  of  March,  1891. 

Whenever  by  improved  appHances,  new  or  different  methods,  or 
superior  facilities  introduced  by  the  manufacturers,  an  increase 
in  the  quantity  of  work  produced  can  be  made,  the  price  of  molding 
may  be  decreased  proportionately;  Provided  that  the  new  price 
shall  not  reduce  the  average  wages  of  the  molder  who  makes  it.^ 

In  1903  it  was  further  agreed  that  the  "  present  estab- 
lished price  of  work  in  any  shop  should  be  the  basis  for 
the  determination  of  the  price  of  new  work  of  similar 
character  and  grade,  unless  the  presidents  of  the  two  or- 
ganizations, or  their  representatives,  shall  decide  that  the 

3  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  May,   1881,  p.   i. 

*  Frey  and  Commons,  pp.  156,  157. 

5  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  February,  1892,  p.  5. 


5293  THE  STANDARD  IL\TE  I4I 

established  prices  of  similar  work  in  the  shop  are  not  in 
accord  with  the  price  of  competitive  goods  made  in  the 
district."  « 

Whenever  it  becomes  necessary  in  any  shop  to  adopt  new 
prices  or  to  readjust  old  ones  in  accordance  with  the  above 
agreements,  an  effort  is  made  at  first  to  secure  an  under- 
standing between  the  foundryman  and  the  price  committee 
of  the  local  union  involved.  When  this  cannot  be  done, 
officers  are  sent  from  headquarters  by  the  two  associations 
to  take  up  the  matter.  As  a  rule,  in  such  cases  the  union 
has  delegated  a  vice-president  to  represent  it  and  the  As- 
sociation has  sent  its  secretary.  When  these  men  visit  a 
foundry  together  and  examine  a  stove,  the  price  of  which 
is  in  dispute,  the  following  method  is  carried  out : 

They  select  another  stove  of  similar  size,  style,  and  construction, 
made  in  the  district,  whose  molding  price  has  already  been  set  and 
accepted  by  both  the  foundryman  and  the  molders  and  recognized 
as  a  standard.  This  stove  is  taken  apart,  piece  by  piece,  and  laid 
out  on  the  floor.  The  stove  to  be  priced  is  then  compared,  piece 
by  piece,  the  patterns  of  each  stove  being  laid  side  by  side,  and  a 
price  is  set  upon  them  that  will  correspond  with  the  prices  paid  for 
the  stove  selected  for  comparison,  due  allowance  being  made  for 
the  differences  in  the  individual  patterns  so  far  as  the  labor 
required  to  mold  them  is  concerned.  By  this  method  guess  work 
is  eliminated  and  a  practical  rule  is  applied  which  meets  every 
requirement.  The  officers  of  both  sides  who  give  this  work  their 
attention  have  become  experts,  and  their  findings  are  generally 
accepted  without  question  by  the  parties  affected. ''' 

Relative  to  the  problems  arising  from  the  use  of  defective 

or  deficient  materials.  Professor  D.  A.  McCabe  states : 

Liability  to  defective  or  deficient  materials  or  to  the  emergence 
of  physical  conditions  which  made  production  of  goods  of  the 
proper  quality  abnormally  difficult  has  raised  issues  which  have 
been  of  importance  in  several  trades.  The  establishment  of  rules 
as  to  when  special  provisions  for  payment  to  meet  such  conditions 
shall  come  into  force  has  given  quite  as  much  difficulty  as  the 
decision  of  what  is  to  be  paid.  Workers  of  molten  iron  and  glass 
are  especially  hindered  in  securing  output  by  poor  materials,  and 
the  rules  for  the  determination  of  when  materials  shall  be  con- 
sidered too  poor  to  be  wor?ced  at  the  regular  list  prices  have  de- 
manded much  attention  in  these  trades.^ 

^  Conference  Agreements,  issued  January  i,   1917,  Clause  7. 

■^  Frey  and  Commons,  pp.  157-158.  Neither  the  value  of  a  stove 
nor  the  number  of  cubic  inches  of  sand  in  a  flask  have  ever  been 
considered  in  fixing  piece  rates. 

8  McCabe,  p.  65. 


142  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  CSS^ 

The  molten  iron  coming  from  the  cupola  is  often  "  dull " 
or  "  dirty."  Likewise  there  are  cases  where  cores  are  im- 
perfect, where  insufficient  iron  has  been  melted  or  where 
"  chill  cracks  "  have  occurred.  "  Dull "  iron  is  iron  that  is 
too  cold  to  pour  properly.  Prior  to  1896  stove  foundrymen 
often  refused  to  pay  for  castings  made  with  dull  iron, 
placing  the  entire  loss  upon  the  molder.  The  molders  pro- 
tested, doing  so  at  times  with  so  much  vigor  that  an  open 
rupture  occurred  between  them  and  their  employers.  While 
there  were  times  when  the  employer  was  evidently  at  fault 
for  providing  dull  iron,  there  were  other  instances  when 
"it  was  almost  impossible  to  place  the  responsibility  for 
work  lost  through  this  cause,  since  molten  iron  loses  its 
life  rapidly  after  being  drawn  from  the  cupola.  Iron  hot 
enough  to  run  the  thinnest  pieces  would  be  held  at  times  in 
the  ladle  carried  by  the  molder  until  it  was  unfit  for  use. 
Under  such  circumstances  the  loss  of  work  could  properly 
be  attributed  to  the  molders'  carelessness  or  lack  of  judg- 
ment. On  the  other  hand,  the  greater  amount  of  work 
misrun  by  reason  of  dull  iron  was  caused  by  a  '  bad  heat,' 
the  iron  drawn  from  the  cupola  not  having  sufficient  life 
and  fluidity  to  properly  fill  the  molds.  .  .  .  The  fact  that 
both  foundryman  and  molder  might  be  responsible  for 
work  misrun  gave  ample  opportunity  for  disputes.  .  .  ."^ 

In  1896  the  problems  of  dull  and  insufficient  iron  were 
taken  up  in  conference.  The  rule  was  adopted  that  when 
there  was  a  bad  heat  causing  dull  iron,  the  foreman's  atten- 
tion should  be  called  to  it.  Payment  was  to  be  made  for 
work  lost  from  dull  iron  "  only  when  poured  by  the  fore- 
man's order"  or  by  that  of  the  person  next  in  authority. 
It  was  also  agreed  that  when  work  had  to  remain  over  be- 
cause there  was  not  enough  iron  to  pour,  the  molders  were 
to  be  paid  for  it  at  one  half  the  regular  price.  In  case  of 
the  "breakdown  of  machinery,  or  other  unavoidable  ac- 
cident," however,  no  allowance  was  to  be  made.^"     These 

^  Frey  and  Commons,  pp.  130,  181. 

"  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  April,  1896,  p.  151. 


53 1 ]  THE  STANDARD  RATE  143 

provisions  remained  in  force  for  seven  years  but  did  not 
give  complete  satisfaction  to  either  side.  In  1903  the  dull- 
iron  rule  was  changed  to  read  as  follows : 

When  it  is  shown  that  the  aggregate  loss  on  account  of  dull 
iron  amounts  to  4  per  cent  of  the  total  value  of  the  work  poured 
by  the  molders  in  any  one  heat,  if  shall  be  deemed  a  bad  heat  and 
payment  shall  be  made  for  all  work  lost  from  this  cause ;  it  being 
understood  that  when  more  than  one  cupola  is  used  the  mold- 
ers receiving  iron  from  each  cupola  shall  be  considered  the  same 
as  though  they  were  working  in  separate  shops  in  making  the  above 
computation.il 

The  new  clause  proved  more  satisfactory  than  the  old  one 
since  it  provided  a  means  of  determining  just  when  a  heat 
was  to  be  considered  dull.  Yet  the  arrangement  did  not 
give  complete  satisfaction.  The  molders  thought  4  per  cent 
too  high  a  figure.  In  1906  the  agreement  was  amended  to 
provide  that  if  the  aggregate  loss  from  dull  iron  throughout 
a  shop  should  be  less  than  4  per  cent  when,  at  the  same  time, 
10  per  cent  of  the  molders  lost  10  per  cent  or  more  of  their 
work  in  the  aggregate,  then  such  men  should  be  paid  for  all 
losses  in  excess  of  4  per  cent  of  their  work.  Each  cupola 
was  still  to  be  considered  a  separate  shop.  This  provision 
obtains  at  present.  The  original  understanding  regarding 
insufficient  iron  also  remains  in  force  with  the  additional 
provision  that  "the  cutting  through  of  the  cupola  bottom  is 
not  to  be  considered  as  a  breaking  down  of  machinery. "^^ 

From  1906  to  1910  the  union  representatives  complained 
at  the  annual  conferences  that  their  members  had  lost  much 
work  from  dirty  iron  and  asked  that  such  losses  be  paid 
for  in  full.  The  Association  replied  that  actual  losses  from 
this  cause  were  small,  because  no  employer  would  knowingly 
purchase  iron  of  an  inferior  grade  and  it  also  held  that 
molders  often  entered  claims  for  compensation  on  account 
of  dirty  iron  when  they  themselves  were  at  fault  because 
of  careless  pouring.  In  1910  the  conference,  after  re- 
viewing the  whole  situation,  decided  that  it  would  be  un- 

"  Ibid.,  April,  1903,  p.  252. 

12  Ibid.,  April,  1906,  p.  228 ;  Conference  Agreements,  issued  Janu- 
ary I,  1917. 


144  ^^^  INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [532 

wise  to  adopt  "  any  sweeping  resolution  "  relating  to  the 
subject  and  that  the  best  plan  would  be  to  adjust  locally 
all  cases  of  abnormal  loss  from  dirt  or  slag.  Where  work  has 
been  lost  on  account  of  defective  cores,  "  chill  cracks,"  or 
over-weight  castings,  adjustments  have  also  been  made  by 
the  locally  interested  parties  or  by  the  national  officers. 

Minor  questions  affecting  piece  rates  have  been  those 
relating  to  charges  for  wheeling  and  cutting  sand,  "  shaking- 
out"  castings,  and  those  concerned  with  the  payment  of 
substitute  molders  and  sub-contracting.  For  many  years 
it  had  been  the  custom  of  piece-working  molders  to  pay 
foundry  laborers  to  wheel  and  cut  sand  and  to  "  shake-out." 
Since  1902  the  union  has  endeavored  to  convince  the  De- 
fense Association  that  its  members  should  assume  the 
burden  of  paying  for  these  services.  The  Association 
agreed  in  1907  to  deliver  new  sand  free  of  charge  but  it 
has  refused  to  give  favorable  consideration  to  the  other  two 
demands.  At  the  1914  conference  the  union  finally  con- 
sented to  a  fixed  scale  of  discounts  to  be  charged  against 
piece  rates  when  the  employer  paid  laborers  for  such  serv- 
ices as  carrying  iron  to  a  molders'  fioor,  cutting  and  trim- 
ming sand,  shifting  weights  and  sleeves,  and  "  shaking  out." 
Substitute  molders,  or  "  cat  skinners,"  were  once  paid  the 
regular  price  rates  but  since  their  earning  capacity  suffered 
on  account  of  their  changes  in  work,  the  union  succeeded 
in  obtaining  an  agreement  from  the  Defense  Association 
in  1905  whereby  such  molders  were  to  receive  15  per  cent 
premium  on  regular  rates  for  the  first  three  days  of  their 
employment  and  straight  rates  thereafter,  unless  they  were 
shifted  to  new  jobs.  The  sub-contracting  issue  has  never 
been  taken  up  with  the  Defense  Association,  but  since  1908 
the  union  has  forbidden  its  members  to  sub-contract  be- 
cause such  a  method  of  operation  is  likely  to  result  in  a 
cutting  of  rates. 

In  the  piece-working  shops  it  is  necessary  to  count  all  the 
castings  and  to  credit  each  molder  with  his  output.  Accord- 
ing to  Frey  and  Commons : 


5333  THE  STANDARD  RATE  1 45 

The  removal  of  casting  from  the  foundry  to  the  cleaning  room 
was  often  done  in  a  slip-shod  manner,  and  an  opportunity  was 
afforded  dishonest  foremen  to  give  credit  for  less  work  than  had 
been  made.  Again,  castings  which  were  broken  through  careless- 
ness by  other  workmen  in  the  cleaning  and  stove-mounting  de- 
partments were  thrown  away.  By  these  methods  the  molders  were 
frequently  imposed  upon,  and  to  prevent  this  they  would  insist 
upon  having  each  day's  work  counted  after  they  had  placed  the 
castings  at  the  end  of  their  floor  and  on  the  edge  of  the  gangway 
running  through  the  foundry.  This  was  known  as  the  '  gangway 
count.' 

Many  firms  refused  to  adopt  this  method,  and  several  of 
the  most  severe  strikes  in  the  union's  history  resulted. 
It  also  happened  at  times  that  "some  of  the  v^ork  would 
contain  imperfections  for  which  the  molder  was  responsible, 
and  for  such  work  he  was  not  paid.  It  was  'discounted' 
against  him."  This  gave  the  foreman  a  chance  to  cheat 
the  journeymen.  "  To  protect  themselves  on  this  point  the 
molders  would  demand  the  right  of  seeing  all  of  their  '  dis- 
counted '  castings  before  they  were  broken  up  for  remelting. 
The  f oundrymen  were  not  always  agreeable  to  granting  this 
privilege.  .  .  ."  ^^  Since  1891  the  union  has  been  able  to 
introduce  the  gangway  count  into  practically  all  stove  shops 
as  the  employers  have  gradually  recognized  its  fairness. 
Action  in  conferences  with  the  Defense  Association  has  not 
been  needed.  It  has  also  been  found  possible  to  settle 
'*  discounting "  problems  by  local  adjustment  or  by  action 
on  the  part  of  national  representatives  of  the  two  associa- 
tions without  the  formulation  of  any  specific  conference 
agreement  on  the  question. 

"  As  a  piece  price  is  set  upon  each  casting,  it  is  necessary 
for  the  molder  to  know  the  price  paid  for  each  piece.  .  .  . 
Many  firms  [once]  were  unwilling  to  furnish  their  molders 
with  a  list  of  the  prices  they  were  paying  for  their  work, 
and  frequently  there  were  two  or  three  prices  on  the  same 
piece  in  the  same  foundry.  This  condition  easily  led  to 
abuses  which  were  the  cause  of  much  friction,  suspicion, 
and  bitter  feelings."  "     As  early  as  1866  the  international 

13  Frey  and  Commons,  pp.  128-129. 
"  Ibid.,  p.  128. 
10 


146  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [.534 

union  recommended  that  shop  committees  be  required  to 
make  out  price  books,  entering  therein  all  day  and  piece 
prices.  At  the  1896  conference  with  the  Defense  Associa- 
tion the  union  pointed  out  that  "  if  a  uniform  price  on  a 
similar  class  of  work  was  to  be  paid  in  each  district  it  was 
evident  that  the  molders  as  well  as  the  foundrymen  should 
be  aware  of  the  prices  paid."  Convinced  of  the  soundness 
of  this  argument,  the  conference  ruled  that  members  of  the 
Association  "  should  furnish  in  their  respective  foundries 
a  book  containing  the  piece  prices  for  molding,  the  same  to 
be  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  responsible  person."  ^^  Some 
members  of  the  Association  construed  the  term  "  responsible 
person"  to  mean  a  superintendent,  a  foreman,  or  an  office 
clerk.  The  journeymen  insisted  that  such  person  should 
be  a  "  representative  molder,"  since  the  men  were  the  ones 
whose  interests  were  primarily  protected  by  a  price  book. 
The  1899  conference  straightened  out  the  tangle  by  pro- 
viding that  the  book  should  be  placed  in  the  joint  care  of 
the  foreman  of  the  foundry  and  a  responsible  molder  agree- 
able to  both  employer  and  employees.  The  1904  confer- 
ence further  adopted  a  rule  that  when  prices  on  piece  work 
had  been  agreed  to,  they  should  promptly  be  reduced  to 
writing.  Since  191 3  it  has  also  been  provided  that  the 
prices  on  all  work  should  be  stamped  on  the  bottom  boards 
of  match  plates.  The  price  book,  however,  still  remains  the 
official  record  on  piece  rates. 

Union  rules  in  1876  required  that  new  work  in  a  stove 
shop  was  to  be  priced  by  the  committee  of  the  local  union 
within  six  days  after  its  introduction.  At  the  1896  con- 
ference it  was  agreed  that  under  ordinary  conditions,  new 
work  should  be  priced  within  two  weeks.  Many  employers 
subsequently  proved  dilatory  in  coming  to  terms  on  prices 
within  the  two-week  period  while  others  tried  to  price  work 
even  before  it  had  been  "  placed  in  the  sand."  To  both  of 
these  practices  the  union  objected.  To  remedy  the  latter  a 
conference  rule  was  passed  in  1907  to  the  effect  that  new 

^'^  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  April,  1896,  p.  151. 


535^  THE  STANDARD  RATE  147 

work  should  not  be  priced  until  it  had  been  made  for  six 
days  and  that  the  molder  working  on  the  job  should  be 
consulted  about  the  rate  to  be  paid.  Where  representatives 
of  the  union  and  the  Defense  Association  have  been  called 
in  to  settle  price  disputes,  local  unions  and  employers  have 
not  been  given  the  right  to  veto  such  settlements.  These 
disputes,  obviously,  have  passed  the  point  where  prices  can 
be  fixed  so  as  to  be  thoroughly  acceptable  to  both  local 
parties. 

The  Holders  have  advanced  several  objections  to  piece 
work  as  it  has  been  practiced  in  American  foundries.  They 
have  charged  that  the  nervous  excitement  of  piece  work 
causes  many  physical  breakdowns.  Secondly,  it  has  been  held 
that  piece  work  encourages  "  hogging "  or  "  rushing "  to 
such  an  extent  that  a  year's  work  is  done  in  six  months  or 
some  such  time,  thereby  causing  unemployment.  This  view, 
of  course,  has  been  based  upon  the  "  lump-of-work  "  theory. 
Thirdly,  the  tendency  to  "  rush "  or  overwork  has  been 
alleged  to  have  a  bad  effect  upon  piece  prices.  Fast  work 
means  large  earnings ;  large  earnings  afford  the  employer 
an  excuse  for  reducing  piece  prices  on  the  ground  that  they 
are  too  high  and  that  the  men  make  more  than  journeymen 
in  other  shops.  More  speeding  up  then  results,  earnings 
attain  something  like  the  old  level,  and  finally  another  cut  is 
made.  Piece  work  has  also  been  condemned  because  it  has 
encouraged  long  hours,  because  it  has  allowed  foremen  op- 
portunity to  favor  particular  molders  by  giving  them  the 
better-paid  jobs,  and  because  the  piece  worker  has  often 
been  paid  only  for  perfect  castings,  even  though  he  has  been 
supplied  with  inferior  materials.  The  union  has  recognized 
the  balance  in  favor  of  piece  work  and  has  never  failed  to 
realize  that  its  abolition  would  require  revolutionary  changes 
in  the  stove  industry.  In  the  machinery  and  jobbing 
branch,  however,  the  union  has  steadfastly  denied  the  neces- 
sity for  piece  work. 

One  of  the  first  measures  adopted  at  the  convention  of 
i860  consisted  of  a  recommendation  "  to  the  Molders  of  the 


148  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [536 

United  States  "  for  the  "  abolishment  of  all  piece  work  as 
soon  as  practicable."  ^^  In  1866  the  convention  went  be- 
yond mere  recommendation  and  voted  that  after  January  i, 
1867,  piece  work  should  be  abolished  in  all  shops  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  general  union,  provided  the  plan,  upon 
being  submitted  to  a  referendum,  was  approved  by  a  ma- 
jority of  three  fourths  of  the  local  unions.  When  the  ref- 
erendum was  taken,  only  some  twenty  of  the  local  unions 
voted  and  these  were  almost  evenly  divided  upon  the  issue. 
After  1870  a  new  policy  was  adopted  by  those  who  were 
opposed  to  piece  work.  Realizing  that  it  would  be  difficult 
to  secure  a  convention  or  referendum  vote  in  favor  of  the 
system's  abolition,  they  proposed  that  members  working  by 
the  piece  be  restricted  to  a  fixed  wage  limit  per  day  in  order 
to  destroy  any  incentive  for  "  speeding  up "  and  to  keep 
the  employer  from  reducing  piece  rates  on  the  ground  that 
the  men  were  making  too  much  money. 

At  every  convention  during  the  eighties  resolutions  were 
introduced  seeking  the  abolition  of  piece  work  or  some  limit 
on  piece  workers'  earnings.  By  this  time  piece  work  had 
begun  to  make  inroads  in  agricultural,  and  machinery  and 
jobbing  shops,  thus  making  its  opponents  the  more  eager  for 
its  destruction  or  curtailment.  Some  local  unions  adopted 
rules  fining  members  who  worked  by  the  piece  elsewhere 
than  in  stove  shops.  Other  local  unions  applied  a  "  limit 
Jaw  "  with  success,  if  we  may  believe  certain  reports.  The 
feeling  gradually  gained  ground,  however,  that  the  abolition 
of  piece  work  was  impossible.  Limitation  upon  earnings, 
on  the  other  hand,  continued  to  be  viewed  more  and  more 
0.S  a  practicable  thing  or  as  an  experiment  worth  trying. 
Accordingly,  in  1886  it  was  voted  that  piece-working  mem- 
bers should  not  be  allowed  thereafter  to  "  make  over  $3.50 
per  day."  Penalties  for  violation  of  the  rule  were  left  in  the 
hands  of  local  unions.  The  "  limit  law  "  naturally  proved  a 
dead  letter.  Consequently,  in  1888  the  national  rule  was 
abolished  and  local  unions  were  allowed  to   regulate  the 

*8  Proceedings,   i860,  p.  4. 


53711  THE  STANDARD  RATE  I49 

matter  as  they  saw  fit.  It  continued  to  be  the  sense  of  the 
convention,  however,  "  that  piece  work  is  detrimental  to  our 
organization,  and  should  be  abolished."  ^^ 

In  1892,  as  noted  above,  the  union  and  the  Defense  Asso- 
ciation in  conference  agreed  to  establish  a  "  general  rate 
of  molders'  wages  .  .  .  for  each  year  without  change."  All 
shops  belonging  to  the  Association  operated  on  the  piece- 
work plan.  The  conference  arrangement  provided  for  the 
settlement  of  piece  prices  on  a  basis  that  prevented  re- 
ductions by  individual  members  of  the  Association  and  ad- 
justments made  under  it  later  proved  that  the  wage  tend- 
ency was  to  be  upward  rather  than  downward.  In  spite 
of  these  considerations,  however,  objections  to  piece  work 
continued.  At  the  convention  of  1899  3-  horde  of  resolu- 
tions relating  to  wage  limits  and  the  abolition  of  piece  work 
were  introduced.  After  considerable  discussion  the  conven- 
tion voted  to  submit  one  of  the  abolition  proposals  to  a 
referendum.  When  the  popular  vote  was  canvassed,  12,449 
ballots  were  counted  in  favor  of  abolition  and  1,048  against 
it.  This  result  did  not  directly  commit  the  union  to  strikes 
against  piece  work,  but  it  did  set  the  seal  of  approval  upon 
an  educational  campaign  looking  toward  the  gradual  elimi- 
nation of  piece  work.  The  union  understood  the  situation 
too  well  to  embark  "  upon  the  crazy  enterprise  of  attempt- 
ing to  effect  a  lightning  change  in  all  stove  foundries." 

In  March,  1900,  at  a  conference  with  representatives  of 
the  Defense  Association  the  union  asked  that  the  substitu- 
tion of  day  work  for  piece  work  be  considered  by  the  next 
convention  of  the  Association.  Immediate  opposition  to 
any  change  was  expressed  by  the  representatives  of  the 
Association  who  declared  that  day  work  would  cause  "  a 
revolution  in  the  stove  business,"  make  it  impossible  to 
arrive  at  costs  of  production,  and  do  injustice  to  molders 
physically  unable  to  earn  minimum  time  rates.  They  also  de- 
clared that  day  work  was  wrong  in  principle  as  it  would  put 
the  efficient  man  "  on  a  par  with  the  lazy  or  unskilled  work- 

"  Ibid.,  1888,  pp.  56,  68,  80,  92. 


I50  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [538 

man,"  and  they  criticized  the  union's  referendum  in  that 
machinery  molders,  who  were  not  vitally  affected  by  the 
question  at  issue,  were  allowed  to  participate  in  the  balloting. 
After  spending  considerable  time  in  their  argument  the  As- 
sociation's representatives  finally  agreed  to  present  the 
union's  resolution  to  their  convention  "  without  in  any  man- 
ner committing  themselves  regarding  the  change."^*  This 
convention,  however,  refused  to  endorse  the  resolution. 

The  1902  conference  also  considered  some  of  the  aspects 
of  piece  work.  It  was  urged  that  "stove  manufacturers 
avoid  the  policy  of  making  up  jobs  which  are  so  undesirable 
that,  in  periods  of  demand  for  molders,  few  can  be  induced 
to  work  on  them."  Furthermore,  it  was  agreed  that  "  work 
which  is  of  itself  considered  poor  should  be  divided  up  as 
much  as  possible,  so  that  no  molder  should  suffer  unduly." 
By  means  of  this  plan  it  was  expected  that  one  of  the  minor 
objections  to  piece  work  would  be  eliminated.  A  more 
important  move,  however,  was  embodied  in  another  resolu- 
tion. While  a  wage  limit  had  been  abolished  by  the  general 
union  in  1888,  several  local  unions  still  endeavored  to  en- 
force some  limitation,  much  to  the  dislike  of  the  foundry- 
men.  Now  the  latter  asked  that  all  limitation  of  output 
be  discontinued.  "  It  appeared  evident  to  the  representa- 
tives of  the  Alolders,  however,  that  some  guarantee  should 
be  given  which  would  eliminate  the  belief  .  .  .  that  large 
earnings  would  tend  to  reduce  piece  prices;  otherwise,  the 
molder  would  not  feel  free  to  put  forth  his  best  efforts, 
fearing  that  he  would  endanger  his  future  earnings."  This 
guarantee  was  secured  by  the  adoption  of  the  following 
clause  in  the  conference  agreement: 

Inasmuch  as  it  is  conceded  by  the  members  of  the  Stove  Found- 
ers' National  Defense  Association  that  the  earnings  of  a  molder 
should  exercise  no  influence  upon  the  molding  price  of  work,  which 
is  set,  according  to  well-established  precedent  and  rule  of  confer- 
ence agreements,  by  comparison  with  other  work  of  a  like  kind, 
the  placing  of  a  limit  upon  the  earnings  of  a  molder  in  the  seven 
hours  of  molding  should  be  discontinued  in  shops  of  members  of 
the  Stove  Founders'  National  Defense  Association. i' 

18  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  April,  1900,  p.   184. 
1*  Ibid.,  April,  1902,  p.  204. 


539^  THE  STANDARD  RATE  I5I 

At  the  union's  1902  convention  President  Fox  made 
special  reference  to  this  clause  and  "  the  convention  there- 
upon placed  itself  on  record  as  being  opposed  to  any  form 
of  limitation  of  output  in  any  branch  of  their  craft."  ^^ 
Within  recent  years  certain  union  leaders  have  declared 
that  their  organization  "  does  exist  in  part  for  the  purpose 
of  protecting  the  molder  or  coremaker  from  being  driven  to 
follow  the  '  records '  which  may  be  made  by  a  man  whose 
ambition  is  to  put  up  a  day's  work  which  no  one  else  can 
reach,  or  to  have  his  wages  based  on  the  '  record '  made  by 
a  *  rusher.' "  ^^  This  statement,  coupled  with  the  com- 
plaint of  many  employers  that  limitation  of  output  continues 
to  exist,  would  appear  to  support  the  conclusion  that  while 
the  union  is  opposed  to  the  limitation  of  output  as  a  gen- 
eral policy,  it  finds  it  necessary  under  certain  conditions  to 
tolerate  local  limitation  in  practice. 

Mention  has  already  been  made  of  efforts  which  were 
put  forth  during  the  eighties  to  exclude  piece  work  from 
agricultural  and  machinery  and  jobbing  shops.  During  the 
following  decade  several  successful  strikes  were  called  either 
to  retain  or  to  secure  day  work  in  such  foundries.  After 
the  agreement  with  the  National  Founders'  Association 
was  made  in  1899,  a  few  local  arrangements  were  entered 
into  with  members  of  the  Association  which  provided  for 
the  continuance  of  piece  work  where  it  was  already  estab- 
lished. In  1904  the  Association  tried  to  secure  assent  to  an 
agreement  recognizing  the  right  of  foundrymen  to  introduce 
the  piece  or  premium  systems  at  prices  which  would  enable 
molders  to  earn  at  least  the  ordinary  day  rate  paid  in  the 
different  foundries,  no  reduction  to  be  made  except  upon 
the  introduction  of  improved  molding  facilities  or  upon 
mutual  agreement.  The  union,  however,  refused  to  enter 
into  any  such  arrangement,  as  it  wished  to  restrict  rather 
than  to  encourage  piece  work.  Since  1904  the  union  has 
been  able  to  maintain  day  work  as  the  prevailing  system 

20  Frey  and  Commons,  p.  179. 

21  International  Molders'  Journal,  November,  1914,  p.  896. 


152  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [540 

in  the  machinery  and  jobbing  foundries  under  its  control. 
However,  it  has  been  unable  to  prevent  the  use  of  piece 
prices  in  foundries  where  there  is  considerable  specialization 
on  certain  lines  of  castings,  and  it  has  consented  without 
much  objection  to  the  payment  of  piece  prices  for  work 
made  on  molding  machinery. 

Time  Rates. — According  to  Professor  D.  A.  McCabe,  "  in 
the  use  of  the  time  standard  rate  the  most  important  ques- 
tion is  as  to  the  grouping  of  the  members  for  purposes  of 
uniform  minimum  rating."  As  this  writer  has  pointed 
out: 

The  line  of  demarcation  between  groups  subject  to  different 
minimum  rates  has  nearly  always  to  do  with  the  kind  of  work 
the  members  are  performing,  not  with  the  degree  of  competency 
shown  in  doing  work  of  the  same  kind.  In  many  trades  there 
are  two  or  more  separate  kinds  of  work  which  are  recognized  as 
constituting  distinct  branches  or  subdivisions  of  the  trade  or 
craft,  each  in  itself  the  special,  and  for  the  most  part,  exclusive, 
occupation  of  those  who  follow  it.  Where  there  are  such  occupa- 
tional groups  within  the  membership  of  a  union  .  .  .  the  general 
policy  is  to  establish  different  minimum  rates  for  groups  recognized 
as  requiring  different  grades  of  skill.22 

In  the  case  of  the  Molders  we  find  that  the  problem  of 
wage  rates  for  different  groups  of  members  has  caused 
considerable  difficulty.  It  has  been  a  settled  policy  of  the 
organization  not  to  insist  upon  the  same  rates  for  molders 
employed  at  different  branches  of  the  trade,  such  as  ma- 
chinery molders,  brass  molders,  radiator  molders,  and  the 
like.  Until  recent  years  it  was  also  an  accepted  feature  of 
the  trade  that  coremakers  should  have  a  lower  rate  than 
molders  and  that  bench  molders  should  be  paid  less  than 
floor  molders.  The  efforts  of  the  union  to  eliminate  these 
two  "  differentials  "  call  for  some  discussion. 

As  previously  noted,  coremakers  were  first  organized  in 
a  separate  national  union.  In  1903  this  union  amalgamated 
with  the  Molders.  By  themselves  the  coremakers  had  been 
rather  weak  and,  consequently,  they  had  not  been  able  to 
obtain  wages  equal  to  those  paid  molders.  The  average  dif- 
ference in  wages  amounted  to  about  fifty  cents  per  day. 

22  McCabe,  pp.  82-83. 


54l]  THE  STANDARD  RATE  153 

Employers  claimed  that  lower  wages  for  coremakers  were 
justified  because  their  work  was  not  as  skilled  as  that  of 
molders.  This  contention  the  union  accepted  for  some  time. 
In  1907,  however,  it  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  dif- 
ferential ought  not  to  exist  and  the  incoming  officers  were 
instructed  to  eliminate  it.  This  action  was  taken,  partly 
because  it  was  felt  that  the  coremakers  possessed  equal  skill 
and  partly  because  the  union  desired  to  strengthen  the 
allegiance  of  coremaker  members.  By  1910  it  was  reported 
that  the  differential  had  already  been  superseded  by  a  flat 
minimum  in  many  cases.  In  191 3  important  agreements 
were  negotiated  with  the  American  Locomotive  Company 
and  with  forty  Philadelphia  f oundrymen  for  the  abolition  of 
the  differential.  In  the  New  York  district,  likewise,  a  flat 
minimum  was  generally  obtained.  In  19 15  there  were 
sixty-seven  local  unions  whose  coremaker  members  received 
less  than  molder  members.  At  the  close  of  1916  an  equal 
wage  had  been  established  in  thirty-thre^  of  these  unions. 
The  consolidation  of  coremakers'  local  unions  with  local 
unions  of  molders  had  much  to  do  with  the  ability  of  the 
union  to  abolish  the  differential. 

The  differential  between  bench  and  floor  molders  was 
based  upon  the  theory  that  bench  work  was  lighter  and 
less  complicated  than  floor  molding.  On  an  average,  bench 
workers  were  paid  twenty-five  cents  less  per  day.  At  the 
1899  convention  it  was  voted  to  make  every  effort  to  abolish 
the  differential.  "  From  1900  to  1904  the  propriety  of  the 
differential  was  a  prominent  subject  of  discussion  in  the 
series  of  conferences  between  the  Iron  Molders  and  the 
National  Founders'  Association.  .  .  .  The  Molders  main- 
tained that  the  differential  never  should  have  existed,  as 
bench  work  was  on  the  whole  worth  as  much  as  floor  work, 
especially  in  machinery  and  jobbing  foundries.  .  .  .  They 
argued,  too,  that  the  differential  had  been  granted  in  only 
a  few  cities  and  would  be  an  innovation  in  the  great  ma- 
jority of  places.  At  a  conference  held  in  the  following 
February  the  Molders  produced  statistical  data  to  support 


154  "^^^   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [542 

this  contention."  ^^  The  union  also  expressed  the  fear  that 
recognition  of  a  differential  would  induce  employers  to  put 
work  on  the  bench  that  had  formerly  been  on  the  floor  and 
declared  that  this  had  been  done  where  the  differential  had 
been  in  force.^*  At  the  final  conference  of  1904  no  prog- 
ress had  been  made  toward  a  settlement  of  the  issue. 
Since  that  time  the  union  has  been  steadily  eliminating  the 
differential.  In  1915  the  differential  obtained  in  twenty- 
five  local  unions;  at  the  close  of  1916  it  was  found  in  only 
thirteen. 

At  its  first  conference  with  the  union  the  National  Found- 
ers' Association  proposed  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to 
collect  data  about  "  existing  conditions,  customs  and  prices 
throughout  the  country;  to  tabulate  the  same,  and  from  the 
facts  thus  gathered  to  prepare  a  schedule  of  wages  they 
would  recommend  to  be  adopted  by  the  two  associations, 
the  same  to  be  graded  and  arranged,  as  in  their  judgment 
will  best  protect  the  interests  of  all  parties."  This  plan, 
which  was  preliminary  to  classifying  molders  on  a  basis  of 
competency,  the  union  conferees  rejected.  They  asked, 
in  turn,  that  the  foundrymen  recognize  "the  principle  of  a 
minimum  wage,"  it  being  understood  that  in  settling  the 
wage  rate  due  consideration  should  be  given  "to  the  diver- 
sified nature  of  the  work  which  would  be  affected  by  its 
application."  ^^  To  this,  however,  the  employers  would  not 
agree.  It  was  the  opinion  of  the  union  that  the  grading  of 
molders  on  any  other  basis  than  that  of  trade  branches  would 
prove  impracticable,  except  perhaps,  in  certain  specialty  shops. 
"The  lines  of  demarcation  would  be  difficult  to  fix,  and 
work  and  wages  would  tend  to  gravitate  to  the  lowest  grades, 
as  had  been  the  case  where  there  was  a  difference  between 
bench  and  floor  rates."  ^®  Another  argument  advanced 
later  on  was  that  plain  work  should  not  be  classified  for 
lower  rates  because  a  greater  output  was  required  on  it 

23  Ibid.,  pp.  91-92. 

2*  In  1902  a  Detroit  concern  made  bench  work  of  flasks  that  re- 
quired two  men  to  handle. 

26  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  July,  1899,  p.  349. 
2«  McCabe,  p.  93. 


543]  THE  STANDARD  RATE  1 55 

than  on  work  requiring  more  skill.  It  was  also  maintained 
that  there  was  not  a  sufficient  amount  of  plain  work  to  jus- 
tify a  general  lower  rate.  At  the  conference  of  October, 
1902,  the  union  representatives  admitted  that  some  con- 
cession might  be  made  for  plain  work  in  a  few  foundries, 
but  they  expressed  a  preference  for  dealing  with  each  case 
on  its  own  merits.  The  union  steadily  opposed  all  general 
schemes  for  classifying  any  one  type  of  molders  in  the  same 
foundry  although,  as  noted  previously,  it  had  no  objection 
to  classifying  different  kinds  of  foundries. 

The  proposals  for  classification  made  by  the  Founders' 
Association  during  the  years  of  negotiation  over  the  ques- 
tion were  not  always  the  same.  At  times  a  lower  rate  was 
suggested  for  coarse  or  plain  work  and  at  other  times  a 
lower  rate  for  less  skilled  men  was  requested.  In  1902  the 
Founders  requested  that  the  wage  rates  paid  in  small  cities 
and  towns  should  be  at  least  twenty-five  cents  less  than 
those  paid  in  large  cities  on  account  of  differences  in  the 
cost  of  living.  In  1903  they  proposed  that  if  a  basic  wage 
rate  were  established  in  foundries  under  its  jurisdiction,  its 
members  should  be  allowed  to  enforce  a  differential  of  ten 
per  cent  that  might  be  extended  to  as  many  as  forty  per 
cent  of  their  molders,  both  floor  and  bench.  Throughout 
the  conferences  the  union  manifested  a  determination  to  ac- 
cept no  proposal  that  would  in  any  way  undermine  its 
policy  of  maintaining  one  standard  rate  for  each  branch 
of  the  trade.  It  offered  no  objection  if  the  employer 
wished  to  pay  exceptional  mechanics  more  than  this  rate. 
Neither  did  it  oppose  the  employer's  right  to  discharge 
molders  unable  to  earn  the  rate.  The  union  balked  at  clas- 
sification such  as  the  Founders  proposed,  chiefly  because  it 
felt  that  the  way  would  be  opened  for  the  serious  competi- 
tion among  the  classes." 

"  It  has  long  been  the  practice  among  the  Iron  Molders," 

27  The  Molders  have  always  allowed  aged  members  to  work  for 
less  than  the  regular  minimum.  Since  1904  it  has  also  permitted 
members  who  have  just  passed  their  period  of  apprenticeship  to  be 
paid  a  lower  rate  than  ordinary  journeymen  for  a  period  not  to 
exceed  six  months. 


156  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  (^544 

says  Professor  McCabe,  "  to  observe  a  '  set  day's  work.' 
Originally,  a  'set'  was  the  number  of  castings  which  a 
man  was  expected  by  the  employer  to  do.  The  workman 
later  began  in  many  localities  to  adopt  '  sets '  for  them- 
selves, and  the  amount  of  work  which  was  to  be  regarded 
as  a  'set'  came  finally  to  be  the  subject  of  agreement 
between  the  employer  and  the  shop  committee."  Only  cast- 
ings which  were  made  in  considerable  number,  such  as  car 
wheels,  had  an  estabUshed  "  set."  The  average  daily 
output  of  the  man  who  made  a  casting  first  was  ordinarily 
recognized  as  the  basis  of  calculation  by  the  shop  commit- 
tee.^® Fines  were  sometimes  imposed  upon  molders  who 
exceeded  the  established  rate  of  output.  "  Sets "  were 
justified  by  union  members  on  the  ground  that  they  afforded 
protection  against  "  rushing."  Foundrymen  naturally  com- 
plained about  the  restriction  of  production  involved  in  a 
"  set."  In  1901  the  matter  was  thrashed  out  in  the  settle- 
ment of  the  big  Cleveland  strike.  In  the  agreement  which 
was  adopted  Section  7  read  as  follows: 

The  arbitrary  limitation  of  output  on  the  part  of  the  molders, 
or  arbitrary  demands  for  an  increase  in  the  output  of  the  molder 
on  the  part  of  the  foundrymen,  not  being  in  accord  with  the  spirit 
of  equity  which  should  govern  the  relationship  of  employer  and 
employee,  all  attempts  in  that  direction  are  to  be  viewed  with 
disfavor.2» 

At  the  1902,  1903  and  1904  joint  conferences  the  Founders* 
Association  proposed  that  there  should  be  no  set  day's 
work  except  by  mutual  agreement,  that  there  should  be  no 
restriction  of  output,  and  that  no  fines  should  be  placed 
upon  molders  to  retard  them  in  their  work.  The  union 
agreed  that  arbitrary  limitations  to  output  should  be  stopped 
and  that  members  should  do  a  "  fair  and  reasonable  day's 
work,"  but  it  asked  that  "  pace-makers "  be  discontinued 
and  that  it  should  not  be  considered  a  matter  of  limitation 
if  journeymen  refused  to  duplicate  the  output  of  specially 
paid  "  rushers."  It  also  suggested  that  disputes  over  what 
was  to  be  a  day's  work  should  be  taken  up  by  foundry 

28  McCabe,  p.  1 10. 

29  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  March,  1901,  p.  134. 


545^  "^^^  STANDARD  RATE  1 57 

foremen  and  their  shop  committees,  with  an  appeal  to  na- 
tional representatives  where  a  local  agreement  could  not  be 
arranged.  Since  the  Association  asked  that  union  members 
give  up  all  restraining  influences  over  output  while  the 
union  held  that  "  some  little  measure  of  restraint "  was 
justifiable,  the  parties  were  not  able  to  reach  a  satisfactory 
understanding  at  any  of  the  three  conferences.^"  Since 
1904  several  authorized  strikes  have  been  called  against 
"  increasing  the  day's  work  "  in  order  to  prevent  injury  to 
the  physical  welfare  of  union  members  and  to  check  "  rush- 
ing." 

The  Molders  have  never  been  friendly  to  "  premium  "  or 
"  bonus "  plans  for  wage  payment.  "  As  early  as  1887 
there  was  objection  on  the  part  of  the  union  to  the  '  day 
and  a  dollar,'  or  '  day  and  a  quarter '  or  '  day  and  a  half ' 
system  of  payment,  under  which  a  man  or  group  of  men 
who  reduced  by  a  specified  amount  the  average  time  for 
turning  out  a  specified  amount  of  product  received  a  dollar 
or  a  fraction  of  a  day's  wage  addition  to  the  regular  daily 
rate."  ^^  From  about  1903  onward  there  was  considerable 
adverse  criticism  on  the  premium  plans  that  were  being 
introduced  into  some  of  the  larger  shops  on  the  ground 
that  molders  who  worked  under  these  plans  did  not  receive 
full  wages  for  any  extra  work  beyond  a  day's  set  output. 
The  employer's  right  to  share  in  the  gains  of  increased  out- 
put was  not  recognized.  At  the  convention  of  1907  the 
union  had  voted  that  inasmuch  as  the  premium  system  was 
a  special  disadvantage  to  older  molders,  on  account  of  the 
"  standard  time  "  being  set  to  fit  the  speed  of  able-bodied 
mechanics,  the  officers  of  the  organization  were  to  use  their 
efforts  to  check  its  growth.  Consequently  the  executive 
board  decided  that  strikes  should  be  authorized  wherever, 
under  the  premium  plan,  molders  were  discharged  for  re- 
fusing to  do  more  than  a  "  day's  work,"  to  work  under 
*'  humiliating  conditions,"  or  to  work  with  someone  standing 
over  them  with  a  stop  watch.  Several  strikes  have  been 
called  against  premium  work,  including  one  at  the  Water- 

3°  Ibid.,  November,  1902,  p.  941  ;  May,  1903,  p.  348. 
•1  McCabe,  pp.  111-112. 


158  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [546 

town  U.  S.  Arsenal  in  191 1.  Partly  as  a  result  of  this 
strike  Congress  appointed  a  special  committee  to  investigate 
the  "Taylor  system"  as  employed  in  government  shops. ^^ 
Disparities  in  wages  in  different  shops  have  existed  in 
the  machinery  and  jobbing  trade  from  the  very  first  and  in 
many  cases  they  were  quite  marked.  The  movement  to 
equalize  day  wages  naturally  began  with  attempts  to  secure 
uniformity  within  a  certain  town  or  district  of  limited  size. 
In  1867  Newark  molders  struck  to  get  the  same  wages  that 
were  being  paid  in  New  York,  Jersey  City,  and  Paterson. 
During  the  '70's  the  small  local  unions  in  the  Ohio  Valley 
succeeded  in  getting  both  day  and  piece  wages  based  upon 
those  paid  in  Cincinnati.  While  the  New  York  agreement 
was  in  force,  it  was  the  policy  of  the  union,  "bearing  in 
mind  the  close  competition  existing  between  foundrymen  in 
the  same  and  adjacent  districts,"  to  favor  gradual  wage  in- 
creases in  low  wage  districts,  rather  than  to  secure  increases 
for  the  better  paid  districts.  As  a  result,  wage  variations 
of  as  much  as  fifty  or  seventy-five  per  cent  were  "  largely 
eliminated."  ^^  It  has  frequently  been  proposed,  but  with- 
out success,  that  a  uniform  time  wage  be  adopted  for  the 
entire  country.  Within  recent  years  considerable  progress 
has  been  made  toward  wage  equalization  by  means  of  agree- 
ments with  large  corporations  which  employ  molders  in 
different  quarters  of  the  country.  In  191 2  seven  local 
unions  were  covered  by  an  agreement  with  the  American 
Locomotive  Company.  Flat  minima  have  also  been  estab- 
lished with  district  associations  of  foundrymen.  For  ex- 
ample, in  1913  an  agreement  for  a  minimum  rate  was  signed 
with  the  Nebraska  Foundrymen's  Association.  In  1917  a 
fixed  rate  was  established  for  "  day-work  ' molders "  in 
shops  controlled  by  the  Stove  Founders'  Defense  Associa- 
tion. In  191 8  the  rate  was  increased  and  was  also  made 
applicable  to  coremakers. 

■2  ^r.  John  P.  Frey,  editor  of  the  Molders'  Journal,  served  as  an 
investigator  for  the  U.  S.  Commission  on  Industrial  Relations  in 
making  a  study  of  efficiency  systems.  In  his  report  Mr.  Frey  vigor- 
ously assailed  these  schemes  because  they  placed  too  much  emphasis 
on  profits  and  too  little  upon  the  welfare  of  labor. 

33  Proceedings,  1907,  p.  6. 


CHAPTER  XI 

The  Hours  of  Labor 

Chaos  prevailed  in  the  molding  trade  before  the  days  of 
unionism  so  far  as  the  hours  of  labor  were  concerned. 
The  early  blast  furnaces  and  foundries  frequently  had  no 
fixed  time  for  pouring  off.  The  molds  were  prepared,  the 
blast  was  put  on,  and  then  the  workmen  went  home  to 
await  summons  by  a  call-boy  whenever  sufficient  iron  had 
been  heated.  Often  the  call  would  come  in  the  middle  of 
the  night.  Such  conditions  were  due  in  large  part  to  im- 
perfect cupola  construction.  The  early  introduction  of 
piece  work  and  of  the  helper  or  "  berkshire "  system  into 
the  stove  industry  also  tended  to  increase  the  hours  of  labor. 
Indeed,  it  was  not  "uncommon  for  molders  to  start  work 
at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning,  .  .  .  and  the  spectacle  of 
a  molder  trudging  through  the  streets  at  that  hour  with  his 
*  berkshire '  at  his  side  bearing  a  lantern  was  not  an  unusual 
one  to  the  night  watch  of  those  days."  ^  In  the  machinery 
and  jobbing  shops  the  payment  of  day  wages  and  the 
absence  of  the  helper  made  conditions  somewhat  better. 

Little  can  be  learned  of  the  attitude  taken  by  the  early 
molders'  unions  toward  the  workday.  In  1835  it  was  re- 
ported at  the  convention  of  the  National  Trades'  Union 
that  the  ten-hour  system  had  been  established  by  the 
"  Founders "  at  Albany,  Troy,  and  Schenectady.^  If  any 
other  local  unions  prior  to  1859  made  efforts  to  regulate 
the  hours  of  labor,  they  probably  went  no  further  than  try- 
ing to  establish  a  ten-hour  day.  In  1861  the  question  of 
hours  first  came  before  the  International  Union.  A  com- 
mittee which  was  appointed  by  the  convention  to  report 

1  D.  W.  O'Connor,  in  the  Albany  Argus,  March  15,  1896. 

2  Commons  and  Sumner,  Documentary  History  of  American  In- 
dustrial Society,  vol.  vi,  pp.  253-254.  Reprinted  from  The  National 
Trades'  Union,  October  10,  1835,  pp.  2-3. 

159 


l60  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [I548 

"  some  plan  by  which  agitation  for  the  eight-hour  system 
may  be  brought  about,"  with  additional  instructions  to  de- 
vise "  some  plan  whereby  the  ten-hour  system  may  be 
carried  into  effect,"  reported  that  many  molders  favored 
the  "  universal  adoption  "  of  eight  hours  because  they  be- 
lieved it  would  "  tend  to  the  amelioration,  enlightment  and 
education  of  the  laboring  class."  Since  reforms  could  only 
be  "  brought  about  by  agitation,"  it  was  recommended,  and 
subsequently  adopted,  that  local  unions  be  urged  "to  en- 
force the  existing  laws  governing  the  hours  of  labor  in 
their  respective  localities."  Secondly,  it  was  provided  that 
a  committee  "  be  appointed  to  prepare  and  to  publish  an 
address  to  the  People  of  the  United  States  and  Canada 
upon  the  subject  of  reducing  the  hours  of  labor  to  eight  per 
diem."  ^  In  brief,  the  union  took  the  ten-hour  day  as  its 
immediate  goal  while  it  looked  toward  the  ultimate  adoption 
of  eight  hours.  Its  expression  in  favor  of  the  eight-hour 
system  was  in  all  likelihood  the  first  ever  made  by  any  Amer- 
ican international  union. 

In  1864  President  Sylvis  expressed  the  opinion  than  an 
extensive  educational  campaign  should  occupy  first  place  in 
any  program  for  a  reduction  in  the  working  day.  The  con- 
vention of  that  year  accordingly  marked  time  and  merely 
called  the  attention  of  local  unions  to  "  the  propriety  of  not 
going  to  work  previous  to  six  o'clock  in  the  morning."^ 
In  the  following  year  President  Sylvis  proposed  that  the 
time  of  going  to  work  be  fixed  at  seven  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, an  hour  that  had  "become  the  custom  in  many  places 
and  should  be  universal."  Such  a  rule,  he  said,  would  be 
"  the  first  step  toward  the  ultimate  establishment  of  the 
eight-hour  system  and  the  abolition  of  piece  work."  ^  The 
convention,  however,  did  not  act  favorably  on  the  suggestion 
until  1872,  when  it  was  shown  that  many  "  piece  unions  " 
were  already  enforcing  a  "  seven  o'clock  law  "  with  good 
results.      As  interpreted  by  President  Saffin,  the  new  rule 

» Proceedings,    1861,  pp.   19,  21,   23. 
*  Ibid.,  1864,  pp.  22,  24. 
5  Ibid.,  1865,  p.  13. 


5493  THE   HOURS   OF   LABOR  l6l 

applied  only  to  piece-work  shops  and  meant  that  no  union 
piece  worker  was  to  be  permitted  "to  work  at  molding  be- 
fore the  regular  hour  when  all  other  mechanics  and  laborers 
go  to  work  in  and  about  the  establishment  in  which  such 
member  is  employed."  ^  Before  long  considerable  fault  was 
found  because  the  rule  set  no  limit  upon  the  number  of 
hours  to  be  worked  either  by  day  or  piece  molders,  but 
only  fixed  the  time  when  work  might  begin.  In  addition, 
it  was  discovered  that  piece  workers  insisted  on  brushing 
patterns,  cutting,  parting  and  riddling  sand,  and  getting 
facing  prior  to  seven  o'clock  on  the  plea  that  such  work  did 
not  constitute  molding.'^  In  other  cases,  where  the  molder 
was  not  allowed  by  his  local  union  to  do  this  work  himself, 
he  hired  someone  to  do  it  for  him.  This  practice  proved 
so  difficult  to  stop  that  in  time  the  union  was  compelled  to 
recognize  its  legitimacy.  As  the  rules  now  read,  no  "  mem- 
ber" whether  a  day  worker  or  a  piece  worker,  is  allowed 
to  do  any  work  before  seven  a.m.  or  after  six  p.m.  unless 
foundry  time  schedules  distribute  the  working  hours  for  all 
employees  otherwise. 

The  first  important  campaign  aimed  directly  at  shorter 
hours  in  both  day-work  and  piece-work  shops  began  in 
1867.  In  that  year  several  local  unions  joined  other  trades 
in  strikes  for  eight  hours  contrary  to  the  desire  of  Pres- 
ident Sylvis  who  firmly  believed  that  a  shorter  day  tould 
only  be  obtained  through  "  agitation,  education  and  leg.^sla- 
tion."  This  movement  accomplished  very  little,  as  may  be 
judged  by  the  fact  that  when  the  1876  convention  adopted 
the  first  rule  definitely  limiting  the  hours  of  labor,  it  was 
provided  that  ten  hours  should  be  recognized  as  "  a  legal 
day's  work."  The  hours  must  be  between  7  a.m.  and  6 
p.m.,  with  overtime  "  in  the  same  ratio  as  for  all  other 

6  Ibid.,  1874.  p-  22 

"^  "  Hours  of  labor  are  unknown  in  some  sections  in  the  State 
of  New  York;  the  blowing  of  whistles  or  the  sounding  of  bells  at 
7  A.M.,  12  M.  or  I  P.M.  has  no  significance  whatever,  because  of 
the  fact  that  many  a  blow  has  been  struck  towards  the  day's  labor 
before  such  signal  is  given"  (James  E.  Roach,  president  of  Local 
Union  No.  8,  in  Every  Saturday,  Albany,  December  5,  1893). 
II 


l62  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [550 

mechanics "  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  An  amendment  to 
adopt  eight  hours  in  place  of  ten  was  lost  after  considerable 
debate.  Two  years  later,  however,  subordinate  unions  were 
urged  "  to  use  all  their  abilities  "  in  advancing  the  eight-hour 
day  in  their  localities.® 

In  1885  the  Federation  of  Organized  Trades  and  Labor 
Unions  issued  a  call  to  all  affiliated  organizations  for  a 
general  eight-hour  strike  on  May  i,  1886.  While  many 
molders  felt  that  their  union  should  assist  in  carrying  out 
the  proposed  movement,  no  active  part  was  taken  by  it. 
The  president  and  executive  board  believed  "  that  the 
working  people  were  not  fully  educated  up  to  the  movement 
and  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  make  it  a  success."  This 
view  was  supported  by  the  convention  of  1886  which  pro- 
vided that  "  the  eight-hour  movement  be  left  in  the  hands 
of  the  incoming  officers  until  such  time  as  they  deem  it 
advisable  and  then  submit  it  to  the  popular  vote  of  the 
members."  ^  Before  any  referendum  was  taken,  however, 
a  new  national  workday  was  adopted.  As  early  as  1872 
a  few  unions  in  Canada  had  endeavored  to  secure  a  nine- 
hour  day  and  in  1887  nine  hours  was  actually  obtained  by 
several  local  unions  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  Delegates  from 
the  latter  group  in  1888  secured  the  adoption  of  a  resolution 
to  make  nine  hours  a  "  day's  work  "  on  and  after  April  i, 
1889.  No  active  measures,  however,  were  undertaken  to 
enforce  the  rule  and  it  became  a  dead  letter. 

In  1890  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  fixed  May  i 
as  the  date  for  a  second  great  movement  for  the  reduction 
of  hours.  The  Molders  were  urged  to  join  in  the  demon- 
stration, but  the  executive  board  again  decided  that  partici- 
pation would  be  inadvisable.  In  1895  President  Fox  stated 
to  the  convention  that  ten  hours  was  "  supposed  to  be  the 
rule,  but  in  many  foundries  little  if  any  attention  is  paid 
even  to  this."  He  asked  that  a  regular  workday  be  deter- 
mined in  order  to  compel  employers  to  start  their  heats 

8  Proceedings,  1876,  p.  yT,  1878,  p.  53. 
»  Ibid.,  1886,  pp.  9,  34. 


55 1]  THE   HOURS   OF  LABOR  I63 

promptly  or  pay  overtime.  Since  the  nine-hour  rule  was 
unenforceable  a  ten-hour  day  with  time-and-one-hal£  for 
overtime  was  adopted.  Provision  was  also  made  for  a 
"  Shorter- Work-Day  Fund  "  to  be  raised  by  a  direct  tax  not 
to  exceed  five  cents  per  month  on  each  member  and  the  con- 
vention went  on  record  as  favoring  the  ultimate  adoption  of 
an  eight-hour  day.^" 

After  sharp  editorial  prodding  from  the  Iron  Molders' 
Journal  which  compared  the  union  to  Rip  Van  Winkle  be- 
cause of  its  lethargy  it  was  decided  in  1899  to  take  a 
referendu,m  on  the  adoption  of  an  eight-hour  day.  This 
measure  was  passed  after  a  sharp  fight  in  favor  of  nine 
hours  which  had  recently  been  established  by  the  machinery 
molders  of  Pittsburgh.  The  referendum  showed  a  vote  of 
12,367  in  favor  of  the  proposal  to  796  against  it.  Although 
an  overwhelming  majority  was  rolled  up  for  an  eight-hour 
day,  for  some  time  local  unions  entered  into  no  active  cam- 
paign for  it.  They  watched  with  interest  the  fight  being 
made  by  the  Machinists  to  enforce  a  nine-hour  agreement 
with  the  National  Metal  Trades'  Association,  but  they  con- 
tinued to  make  demands  for  higher  wages  rather  than  for 
shorter  hours,  although  it  was  pointed  out  that  the  shorter 
day,  once  established,  was  more  easily  retained  than  in- 
creased wages. 

Incited  by  the  Printers'  and  the  Machinists'  policy  of  re- 
ducing the  workday  "  an  hour  at  a  time,"  the  Molders'  of- 
ficers decided  at  last  to  advocate  "  nine  hours  as  a  stepping 
stone  to  eight."  On  April  23  1900,  the  executive  board, 
after  receiving  the  referendum  vote  in  favor  of  the  eight- 
hour  day,  decided  that  a  general  strike  to  obtain  the  latter 
would  be  unwise  since  the  certain  failure  of  the  movement 
in  many  localties  would  retard  progress.  Local  strikes 
for  nine  hours,  however,  were  approved  and  during  the 
next  year  several  unions  were  given  assistance  in  forcing 
reductions  to  nine  hours.  In  1901  a  nine-hour  day  was  se- 
cured in  several  towns  near  Pittsburgh,  in  the  jobbing  found- 

10  Ibid.,  1895,  pp.  20,  56,  57,  64,  66,  69,  72,  90. 


164  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [^552 

ries  of  Boston  and  vicinity,  and  finally  in  the  foundries 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  New  York  Conference  Board. 
Strikes  for  nine  hours  were  also  inaugurated  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, Seattle,  and  Tacoma.  Encouraged  by  these  successes, 
the  Holders  in  1902  pronounced  themselves  in  favor  of  the 
nine-hour  day  in  all  foundries  under  their  jurisdiction. 
Furthermore,  it  was  provided  that  all  well-organized  unions 
were  to  give  preference  to  demands  for  a  nine-hour  day 
without  reduction  in  wages,  while  the  incoming  officers  were 
instructed  to  negotiate  local  and  national  agreements  to  the 
same  end  when  possible. ^^ 

Following  this  action  the  first  extensive  movement  for  a 
shorter  workday  may  be  said  to  have  taken  place.  The 
machinery  and  jobbing  branches  of  the  trade,  where  time 
rates  prevailed,  were  the  first  to  secure  results.  When  local 
unions  found  that  they  could  not  get  the  sanction  of  the 
executive  board  to  strike  for  higher  wages,  they  fell  in  line 
for  shorter  hours.  Their  demands  were  soon  granted  in 
many  foundry  centers  of  New  England,  Pennsylvania,  New 
York,  and  the  Central  West.  By  March,  1903,  it  was  re- 
ported that  7,500  molders  in  day-work  shops,  largely  ma- 
chinery and  jobbing  foundries,  had  so  far  obtained  nine 
hours,  either  by  recent  agreement  or  by  "  established 
custom."  Of  this  number  about  4,300  were  in  the  New 
York  and  Pittsburgh  districts.  In  December,  1903,  it  was 
stated  that  the  number  of  nine-hour  shops  had  increased 
during  the  year  by  over  two  hundred  per  cent. 

In  1902  two  conferences  were  held  with  the  National 
Founders'  Association.  At  the  first  the  molders  asked  for 
a  shorter  day  on  the  ground  that  labor-saving  machinery 
made  it  possible  from  the  employer's  viewpoint  and  that  in- 
creased efifort  and  concentration  made  it  necessary  from 
the  workman's  viewpoint.  The  foundrymen,  however,  de- 
clared that  shorter  hours  would  mean  less  product  and 
would,  therefore,  be  impracticable  at  the  time  because  of 

^1  Ibid.,  1902,  p.  724.  In  all,  six  resolutions  to  reduce  the  working 
day  were  presented  at  the  1902  convention. 


553^  THE   HOURS   OF   LABOR  I65 

the  extraordinary  demand  for  castings.  They  agreed,  how- 
ever, to  bring  the  matter  to  the  attention  of  their  ad- 
ministrative council  at  its  next  meeting.  In  the  meantime, 
it  was  provided  that  whenever  the  nine-hour  day  became  an 
issue,  it  was  to  be  dealt  with  under  the  New  York  Agree- 
ment. At  the  second  conference  the  union  proposed  a  nine- 
hour  day  with  ten  hours'  pay  in  return  for  which  it  prom- 
ised to  cooperate  with  the  f  oundrymen  "  in  using  to  their 
best  advantage  all  improved  facilities  or  methods  introduced 
with  a  view  to  reducing  the  labor  cost."  By  this  time, 
however,  the  Founders  had  framed  an  agreement  covering 
various  foundry  issues  which  they  wished  the  union  to 
accept  in  full.  Their  conferees  accordingly  refused  to 
accept  a  nine-hour  day  unless  the  Molders  subscribed  to  all 
provisions  of  the  proposed  agreement.  The  Molders,  how- 
ever, considered  nearly  all  these  provisions  extremely  obnox- 
ious and  refused  to  accept  them.  Consequently,  as  the 
representatives  of  the  Founders  refrained  from  considering 
a  nine-hour  day  "  upon  its  merits  alone  "  and  continued  to 
deal  with  the  question  as  a  "  subject  of  barter,"  no  settle- 
ment was  reached. ^^  The  position  of  the  foundrymen 
shifted  the  following  month  at  their  sixth  annual  conven- 
tion when  it  was  unanimously  agreed  that  the  establishment 
of  a  nine-hour  day  was  a  local  and  not  a  national  issue. 
Accordingly,  at  the  final  conference  held  in  April,  1904, 
representatives  of  the  Association  declared  that  they  would 
not  accept  a  proposition  for  a  nine-hour  day,  it  offered. 
After  this  conference  all  movements  for  shorter  hours  in 
machinery  and  jobbing  foundries  necessarily  involved  indi- 
vidual employers  only. 

During  the  next  few  years  there  was  a  steady  increase 
in  the  number  of  nine-hour  unions.  In  1907  President 
Valentine  stated  that  seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  member- 
ship in  the  machinery  and  jobbing  branch,  employed  for 
the  most  part  in  large  foundry  centers,  had  a  nine-hour 
day.     In   191 2  the  per  cent  so  working  had  increased  to 

12  Conference  Proceedings,  MS.,  October,  1902. 


1 66  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  ^554 

ninety-five.  In  some  cases,  notably  in  all  the  towns  of 
Montana,  eight  hours  had  been  secured.  The  union,  how- 
ever, continued  to  devote  its  energies  toward  getting  nine 
hours  for  all  the  unions.  So  successful  were  its  efforts  that 
by  the  end  of  1910  few  ten-hour  cities  were  left.  Finally, 
in  1912,  the  time  was  considered  ripe  for  a  further  advance. 
It  was  then  decided  to  declare  for  an  eight-hour  day  and  to 
require  all  well-organized  unions  to  give  preference  to  it  in 
demands  upon  employers  as  had  previously  been  done  in 
1902  with  respect  to  a  nine-hour  day.  Furthermore,  all 
efiforts  were  to  be  bent  toward  securing  reductions  by  local 
and  national  agreements.  Up  to  the  present  time  this  move- 
ment has  had  good  success.  At  the  close  of  1916  the  fol- 
lowing gains  for  machinery  and  jobbing  unions  were  re- 
corded over  the  hours  in  1915:^^ 

Number  of  Local  Unions              Hours  for  1915  Hours  for  1916 

2 10  per  day  gi  per  day 

26 10  per  day  9    per  day 

14 9  per  day  8    per  day 

1 54  per  week  50    per  week 

The  first  rule  adopted  primarily  to  regulate  the  hours  of 
piece  workers  was  the  so-called  "  seven-o'clock  law."  Soon 
after  its  passage  agitation  developed  in  favor  of  stating 
specifically  the  time  to  be  allowed  for  actual  molding.  In 
certain  quarters  it  was  advocated  that  no  molding  be  done 
after  the  dinner  hour,  and  in  others  that  the  hours  be  lim- 
ited to  seven,  seven  and  one  half,  or  eight  per  day.  Piece 
workers,  of  course,  were  affected  by  the  general  decisions  in 
favor  of  eight-hour  or  nine-hour  days,  but  it  proved  diffi- 
cult to  keep  them  within  bounds  because  they  would  gen- 
erally continue  molding  so  late  in  the  afternoon  that  more 
flasks  were  put  up  than  could  be  poured  o&  within  the  stipu- 
lated time.  When  conferences  with  the  Defense  Associa- 
tion were  begun  in  1891,  the  question  of  hours,  like  other 
matters  pertaining  to  the  trade,  was  submitted  to  national 
collective  bargaining.  In  1902  an  agreement  was  finally 
reached  with  the  Association  for  a  molding  day  of  seven 

13  International  Molders'  Journal,  December,  1916,  pp.  1047-1050. 


5551  THE    HOURS   OF   LABOR  1 67 

hours.  All  unskilled  labor,  such  as  cutting  sand  and  work 
of  like  character,  was  to  be  done  by  ordinary  laborers.  At 
the  conference  of  December,  1910,  it  was  further  agreed 
that  after  April,  191 1,  the  last  ladle  of  iron  should  be  given 
to  the  molder  within  an  hour  and  three  quarters  after  the 
seven  hours  of  molding.  Time  given  to  sand-cutting  was  not 
to  be  included  within  the  molding  period.  In  1913  the 
union  asked  that  the  hours  of  molding  be  reduced  to  six. 
The  f  oundrymen  contended  that  they  had  "  had  but  two 
years  in  which  to  adjust  themselves  to  the  eight  and  three 
quarters  hours  rule  and  they  should  not  now  be  called  upon 
in  so  short  a  period  to  make  another  and  still  more  radical 
change."  ^*  In  December,  1916,  a  compromise  was  reached  on 
a  molding  day  of  six  and  one  half  hours.  Finally,  it  was 
agreed  in  1918  that  the  last  ladle  of  iron  was  to  be  given 
the  molder  within  one  and  three  quarters  hours  after  six 
hours  of  molding. 

Overtime  has  always  been  an  important  factor  in  the 
molding  industry  owing  to  numerous  accidents  and  unfore- 
seen delays  that  are  bound  to  occur  in  preparing  or  handling 
a  heat.  It  has  frequently  been  complained  that  for  this 
reason  the  hours  of  molders  are  more  irregular  than  those 
of  other  workers.  The  international  officers  have  always 
tried  to  discourage  overtime  because  it  "  takes  work  away 
from  the  unemployed,"  and  because  tired  men  cannot  be 
expected  to  do  good  work.  As  noted  above,  in  1876  a  rule 
was  adopted  for  payment  of  overtime  "  in  the  same  ratio 
as  other  mechanics  "  in  the  "  immediate  vicinity."  In  1895 
it  was  provided  definitely  that  time-and-one-half  should  be 
paid  for  overtime,  with  double  time  for  Sunday  and  holi- 
days. This  rule,  of  course,  involved  an  increase  in  piece 
prices  as  well  as  an  addition  to  day  rates.  Very  frequently 
piece  workers  have  encroached  upon  the  dinner  hour.  In 
1895  it  was  provided  that  no  union  molder  should  "do  any 
work  between  the  hours  of  12  m.  and  i  p.m.,  if  practicable."  ^' 
This  is  the  present  rule. 

1*  Ibid.,  January,  1911,  p.  i;  January,  1914.  pp.  30,  50. 
^5  Constitution,  1895,  Standing  Resolution  No.  3. 


1 68  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  CSS^ 

Agitation  for  a  Saturday  half  holiday  began  to  appear  in 
the  early  eighties.  Attention  was  called  to  the  fact  that 
such  an  arrangement  had  been  enjoyed  for  some  time  by 
English  and  Scotch  molders  who  considered  it  an  "  inesti- 
mable boon."  During  the  nineties  a  few  local  unions  se- 
cured Saturday  afternoons  off,  especially  during  the  summer 
months.  In  general,  however,  there  has  been  little  interest 
among  the  molders  in  the  half-holiday  plan,  due  to  the  feel- 
ing that  the  efforts  of  the  organization  can  be  spent  to  better 
advantage  by  the  promotion  of  the  shorter  workday.  In 
1886  it  was  proposed  that  the  Molders  imitate  the  glass 
workers'  union  by  shutting  down  all  stove  shops  from  July 
I  to  September  i  each  year.  In  1907  the  convention  re- 
ferred to  the  conference  committee  a  resolution  requesting 
the  Defense  Association  to  agree  to  a  shut-down  of  one 
month  during  the  hot  summer  weather.  The  committee, 
however,  never  took  the  matter  up  with  the  foundrymen. 
The  summer-stop  issue  has  never  been  pressed  because 
other  limitations  on  working  time  have  been  of  more  im- 
portance. 

In  advocating  the  shorter  workday  the  Molders  have  ad- 
vanced two  doctrines  at  different  times:  first,  that  shorter 
hours  realize  a  lessened  product  per  man,  thereby  increasing 
the  demand  for  journeymen;  second,  that  they  realize  a  prod- 
uct equivalent  to,  or  greater  than,  that  which  can  be  obtained 
by  longer  hours.  President  Safifin  was  one  of  the  first  to 
give  expression  to  the  former  doctrine,  which  has  been 
called  the  "  lump-of-labor  "  theory.  In  1874  he  advocated 
an  eight-hour  day  "in  the  hope  that  there  will  be  a  cor- 
responding reduction  in  the  amount  produced  by  each  in- 
dividually .  .  .  until  the  demand  for  laborers  equals  the 
supply."  ^^  In  1885  the  prevailing  philosophy  was  more  fully 
stated  as  follows :  "  It  is  not  proper  that  some  should  be 
compelled  to  go  in  idleness.  To  diminish  the  hours  of  toil 
is  to  increase  the  value  of  labor.  It  will  be  the  means  of 
giving  employment  to  unemployed  labor.     It  will  change 

18  International  Journal,  May,   1874,  p.  361. 


55711  THE   HOURS   OF  LABOR  I69 

for  the  better  the  social  state  and  character  of  the  people. 
It  will  also  strengthen  the  faith  of  the  people  in  the  politi- 
cal institutions  of  the  country."  ^^  The  well-known  physi- 
cal and  educational  arguments  in  favor  of  shorter  hours 
were  also  stated.  A  little  later  it  was  said  that  shorter 
hours  were  "  one  of  the  important  factors  that  will  assist 
to  solve  the  problem  of  what  to  do  with  the  surplus  of 
labor  which  the  active  American  genius  ...  is  constantly 
throwing  into  idleness."  ^®  Irregular  employment,  under- 
employment and  unemployment,  with  their  accompaniment 
of  tramp  molders,  scabs,  non-union  men,  suspended  and  ex- 
pelled union  members,  were  all  attributed  to  long  hours. 

By  1897  it  became  evident  that  a  new  theory  of  the 
shorter  workday  had  to  be  adopted.  An  endeavor  was  then 
being  made  to  interest  employers'  associations  in  a  reduc- 
tion of  the  working  time.  Such  bodies  could  not  be 
reached  by  the  doctrine  that  shorter  hours  meant  less  prod- 
uct and  the  employment  of  more  men  at  prevailing  wages. 
In  an  address  before  the  American  Foundrymen's  Asso- 
ciation in  May,  1897,  President  Fox  rather  inconsistently 
stated  that  the  eight-hour  day  would  reduce  the  army  of  un- 
employed and  that  at  the  same  time  it  was  the  best 
system  "  from  a  business  standpoint "  because  it  might 
result  in  production  equal  to  that  of  the  ten-hour  day.  In 
the  course  of  the  next  few  years  the  "  increased-produc- 
tivity "  theory  became  firmly  established.  It  was  reported 
that  the  nine-hour  shops  were  the  best  money  makers  since 
they  got  the  best  molders  and  turned  out  the  best  castings. 
As  a  final  statement  of  its  faith  in  reduced  hours,  the  union 
in  1907  declared  that  the  shorter  workday  brought  increased 
financial  gain  to  employers  through  increased  production 
and  that  it  meant  for  employees  better  health,  more  time  at 
home  with  wives  and  children,  and  opportunity  for  self -im- 
provement.^^ 

17  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  January,  1885,  p.  12. 

18  Ibid.,  August,  1887,  p.  4- 

19  Proceedings,  1907,  p.   130. 


CHAPTER  XII 

Apprentices  and  Helpers 

Apprentices. — As  soon  as  American  molders  organized 
they  endeavored  to  secure  regularity  with  regard  to  the  ratio, 
term,  age,  instruction,  and  pay  of  apprentices.  Particular 
attention  was  paid  to  the  ratio.  Usually  this  question  was 
taken  up  later  than  that  of  wages  but  in  some  cases  it  ante- 
dated the  wage  issue.  The  Molders  have  had  two  purposes 
in  restricting  the  number  of  apprentices.  In  the  first  place, 
they  have  sought  to  prevent  the  '  overcrowding '  of  the 
trade ;  secondly,  they  have  wished  to  give  apprentices  an 
opportunity  to  learn  the  trade. 

As  far  as  can  be  learned,  the  usual  ratio  observed  by  the 
early  local  unions  was  one  apprentice  to  ten  journeymen. 
In  the  Philadelphia  union  extra  allowance  was  made  for 
"  sons  of  molders  working  with  their  fathers."  ^  When  the 
general  union  was  formed,  local  unions  were  still  left  free 
"to  regulate  the  apprentice  system  as  they  may  deem  ex- 
pedient," although  they  were  urged  to  adopt  some  means  of 
securing  a  regularly  articled  apprenticeship.^  Finally,  the 
1867  convention  established  a  uniform  ratio  of  one  appren- 
tice to  each  shop  regardless  of  its  size,  and,  in  addition,  one 
apprentice  to  each  eight  journeymen  therein.  When  it  came 
to  enforcing  the  ratio  the  union  found  grave  difficulty.  Em- 
ployers complained  that  the  limit  of  one  to  eight  prevented 
a  proper  recruiting  of  the  trade  and  that  it  was  a  purely 
arbitrary,  rule-of-thumb  regulation.  In  many  localities  the 
apprenticeship  issue  caused  severe  strikes  and  lockouts. 

Largely  as  a  result  of  the  criticism  which  was  directed 
against  the  limitations  of  a  fixed  ratio,  the  Molders  endorsed 

1  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  April,  1881,  p.  4. 

2  Proceedings,  i860,  p.  4;  Constitution,  i860,  By-Laws,  art.  5, 
sec.  4. 

170 


5593  APPRENTICES    AND    HELPERS  I7I 

a  system  of  indenture  in  1876  after  unsuccessful  attempts 
had  been  made  to  secure  the  establishment  of  such  a  system 
through  state  legislation.  The  several  local  unions  were 
instructed  "to  use  every  honorable  means  to  have  each  and 
every  apprentice  to  the  trade  of  iron  molding  legally  in- 
dentured "  for  at  least  four  years.  By  a  legal  indenture 
was  meant  a  contract  between  the  employer  and  the  parent 
or  guardian  of  the  boy  whereby  the  former  agreed  to  teach 
the  boy  his  trade,  furnish  him  work  each  working  day  in 
the  year,  pay  him  a  stated  wage,  furnish  him  proper  care 
during  sickness,  and  be  responsible  before  the  proper  courts. 
The  apprentice  was  to  agree  to  be  "honest,  sober  and  at- 
tentive," to  work  each  working  day,  to  advance  his  master's 
interest,  and  to  "  use  diligence  in  learning  the  trade  "  during 
a  maximum  ten-hour  day.  Either  party  was  to  have  power 
to  break  the  indenture  for  sufificient  cause  as  determined  in 
court.  Indentures  were  to  be  recorded  with  competent 
county  officials.  Whenever  the  employer  refused  "  to  have 
his  apprentices  indentured  or  to  serve  four  years,"  each 
local  union  was  "to  do  all  in  its  power  to  restrict  the  em- 
ployment of  such  apprentices "  to  the  one-to-eight  ratio. 
If  the  employer  agreed  to  the  plan,  no  specific  ratio  was  to 
be  enforced.^  The  passage  of  the  indenture  plan  was  hailed 
by  President  Saffin  as  something  which  should  "  disarm  all 
opposition"  to  the  union's  apprenticeship  policy  since  the 
doors  of  the  trade  were  thrown  open  to  all  aspirants,  pro- 
vided employers  agreed  to  become  legally  responsible  for 
apprentices.  The  ideal  system,  however,  did  not  work. 
Neither  employers  nor  apprentices  were  anxious  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  it.  The  age  of  indenture  had  long  since  passed. 
After  a  half  dozen  years'  trial  had  proved  the  futility  of  the 
plan,  it  was  completely  dropped,  and  uniform  enforcement 
of  the  old  ratio  was  again  attempted.* 

Scientific  discussion  of  the  apprenticeship  ratio  first  began 

3  Proceedings,  1876,  p.  65. 

*  Ibid.,  1882,  p.  78.     On  several  occasions  after  1882  a  second  trial 
of  the  indenture  system  was  unsuccessfully  proposed. 


172  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [56O 

with  the  annual  conferences  between  the  union  and  the 
Stove  Founders'  National  Defense  Association.  At  the 
first  conference  in  1891  it  was  unanimously  decided  to  in- 
vestigate the  question.  At  the  second  conference  in  1892 
a  resolution  was  recommended  for  favorable  action  to  the 
membership  of  both  associations  which  provided  that  "  as 
reliable  statistics  demonstrate  the  average  duration  of  a 
journeyman  molder's  continuance  at  his  trade  to  be  less 
than  sixteen  years,  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to  maintain  a 
proper  supply  of  competent  workmen,  that  one  apprentice 
be  employed  for  every  six  journeymen  or  one  for  every 
seven  floors  operated."^  Since  this  provision  practically 
meant  the  full  recognition  of  a  regular  apprenticeship  ratio 
by  the  foundry  men,  a  majority  of  the  latter  opposed  its 
adoption.  Likewise  the  union,  by  referendum  vote,  re- 
fused to  sanction  the  change  in  the  ratio. 

After  1892  "the  foundrymen  annually  lodged  complaint 
against  the  restriction.  They  gave  no  official  sanction  to  the 
Holders'  ratio,  and  held  that  each  member  of  the  Associa- 
tion was  free  to  employ  as  large  a  number  of  apprentices 
as  in  his  estimation  were  required."  ^  No  strikes  occurred 
over  this  question  in  Association  foundries,  but  the  Holders 
locally  used  their  efforts  to  maintain  the  ratio  at  one  to 
eight.  At  the  various  conferences  the  foundrymen  em- 
phasized the  fact  that  the  average  ratio  actually  obtaining 
in  the  stove  shops  of  the  country  was  much  higher  than 
eight  to  one  and  they  repeatedly  asked  for  the  establishment 
of  a  ratio  of  four  to  one.  The  officers  of  the  union  made 
investigations  which,  to  a  great  extent,  substantiated  the 
employers'  claims.  They  discovered  that  during  strikes 
many  boys  had  been  introduced  into  foundries  and  that  the 
trade  was  being  recruited  in  a  very  irregular  and  undesir- 
able way.  Consequently  they  urged  upon  their  membership 
the  advisability  of  raising  the  ratio  as  a  means  of  meeting 
an   existing   situation.     President   Fox,   in   particular,   ex- 

6  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  March,  1892,  p.  5. 
^  Frey  and  Commons,  p.  165. 


561]]  APPRENTICES    AND    HELPERS  1 73 

pressed  the  opinion  that  if  the  ratio  were  increased  the  union 
would  not  be  charged  with  arbitrary  determination  and  that 
it  would  have  better  control  over  entry  to  the  trade.  He 
pointed  out  that  the  "  botch  "  workmen,  who  were  produced 
by  the  employment  of  a  large  number  of  boys  in  struck  shops 
and  in  non-union  shops,  were  detrimental  to  the  union  and 
that  it  was  unjust  to  fair  employers  to  penalize  them  with 
a  low  ratio. 

In  spite  of  the  arguments  presented  to  them  the  members 
of  the  union  refused  for  many  years  to  make  any  change. 
Finding  that  a  campaign  of  education  was  needed,  the 
officers  of  the  union  entered  upon  it  with  vigor.  Mean- 
while the  Association  patiently  waited  for  results.  The 
1904  conference  proved  to  be  the  beginning  of  the  end. 
The  union  representatives  definitely  favored  a  ratio  of  one 
to  five,  provided  it  were  observed  by  every  member  of  the 
Defense  Association,  and  promised  another  referendum  on 
the  question.  Soon  after  the  conference  a  meeting  of  all 
the  international  officers  and  business  agents  of  the  union 
expressed  unanimous  approval  of  the  ratio  of  one  to  five. 
By  constant  presentation  of  argument  the  officers  were 
finally  able  to  win  over  enough  of  the  membership  to  carry 
the  referendum  by  the  close  vote  of  11,308  to  9,028. 

The  favorable  vote  did  not  mean  amendment  of  the 
Holders'  constitution.  It  merely  authorized  the  union's 
conferees  to  enter  into  an  agreement  with  the  Association 
establishing  a  ratio  of  one  apprentice  to  every  five  journey- 
men, plus  one  apprentice  for  each  shop.  Such  an  agree- 
ment was  made  in  March,  1905.  Following  a  plan  adopted 
in  1900,  the  agreement  also  provided  that  foundrymen 
might  obtain  more  apprentices  than  the  ratio  allowed  when 
journeymen  molders  were  not  available  in  sufficient  num- 
bers. To  secure  a  gradual  adjustment  to  the  new  plan,  it 
was  agreed  that  "  the  number  of  apprentices  shall  be  com- 
puted upon  the  journeymen  molders,  it  being  understood 
that  when  the  force  of  molders  is  increased,  said  increase 


174  '^^^   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [562 

shall  have  been  in  existence  not  less  than  eight  weeks  pre- 
vious to  the  employment  of  additional  apprentices."  Where 
shops  were  observing  a  ratio  higher  than  one  to  five,  the 
latter  ratio  was  to  be  reached  "  by  refraining  from  placing 
new  apprentices  at  work,  until  such  time  as  the  present  num- 
ber of  apprentices  will  have  been  reduced  to  the  proper 
number."  In  shops  where  the  existing  ratio  was  less  than 
one  to  five  no  journeyman  was  to  "be  discharged  or  laid 
ofif  for  the  purpose  of  supplanting  him  by  an  additional  ap- 
prentice." ^  All  these  conference  resolutions  were  adopted 
by  the  Defense  Association  in  May,  1905,  and  were  put 
into  effect  on  June  i  of  the  same  year. 

Quite  different  in  result  were  the  negotiations  with  the 
National  Founders'  Association.  At  the  conference  of  Oc- 
tober, 1902,  representatives  of  the  Founders  complained  that 
there  were  not  enough  skilled  machinery  and  jobbing  mold- 
ers  and  that  restrictive  apprenticeship  rules  were  ill-ad- 
vised. They  asked  that  the  officers  of  the  Association  and 
the  union  be  allowed  to  adjust  disputes  over  the  proper 
number  of  apprentices  "  in  an  equitable  way,  based  upon 
the  conditions  prevailing  at  the  time  in  the  locality  in  which 
the  dispute  occurs."  To  this  measure  the  Holders'  con- 
ferees refused  assent.^  A  similar  resolution  was  defeated 
in  1904.  The  objections  raised  to  the  plan  were  that  it 
practically  amounted  to  the  abolition  of  the  ratio,  that  it 
involved  too  much  uncertainty  and  would  open  up  the  way, 
in  some  cases,  for  using  more  boys  than  molders.  When 
the  Founders'  Association  abrogated  the  New  York  agree- 
ment later  in  1904,  all  negotiations  over  apprentices  neces- 
sarily were  dropped. 

In  1907  the  union  established  the  ratio  of  one  to  five  for 
all  shops  as  it  was  inequitable  to  burden  friendly  employers 
outside  the  stove  branch  with  a  lower  ratio  than  stove 
foundrymen  enjoyed.  The  Defense  Association  in  1912 
and  1916  unsuccessfully  asked  for  a  ratio  of  one  to  three. 

^  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  April,  1905,  p.  250. 
8  Ibid.,  November,  1902,  p.  941. 


563]]  APPRENTICES    AND    HELPERS  1 75 

In  1 91 2  various  resolutions  were  offered  in  the  union  con- 
vention for  the  restoration  of  the  old  general  ratio  of  one 
to  eight  and  for  a  special  ratio  of  one  to  twenty  on  mold- 
ing-machine work.     None  of  these  measures  were  approved. 

It  was  shown  in  1912  that  in  some  shops  there  was  a 
tendency  to  put  all  or  a  very  large  part  of  the  apprentices 
either  in  the  coreroom  or  on  the  foundry  floor.  To  pre- 
vent overcrowding  any  one  branch  of  the  trade  it  was  voted 
that  local  unions  "  use  their  best  endeavor  to  effect  an  equal 
distribution  of  apprentices  in  all  branches  of  the  molding 
trade."  ^  While  the  quota  of  boys  was  distinctly  stated 
in  the  apprenticeship  rules,  for  a  long  time  no  method  was 
provided  for  ascertaining  the  number  of  molders  upon  which 
the  ratio  was  to  be  based.  The  matter  was  complicated  by 
the  fact  that  foundries  did  not  provide  continuous  employ- 
ment the  year  round  for  "  nearly  an  equal  number  of 
molders."  It  was  claimed  that  the  f  oundrymen  were  "  tak- 
ing advantage  of  the  law  and  putting  on  as  many  appren- 
tices as  they  would  be  entitled  to  have  if  all  the  floors  and 
benches  were  full."  ^°  To  correct  this  abuse  the  convention 
of  1886  provided  that  the  ratio  was  to  be  "  based  upon  the 
number  of  men  employed  in  a  shop  the  preceding  year."  ^^ 
In  1890,  for  some  unexplained  reason,  this  rule  was 
rescinded.  Finally,  in  1912,  a  rule  was  adopted  that  "the 
number  of  apprentices  shall  be  computed  by  the  number  of 
journeymen  employed,  it  being  understood  that  when  the 
number  of  journeymen  is  increased,  said  increase  shall  have 
been  in  existence  not  less  than  eight  weeks  previous  to  the 
employment  of  any  additional  apprentices." " 

According  to  accounts  given  by  veteran  molders  the  term 
of  apprenticeship  in  pre-union  days  varied  constantly.  One 
boy  in  1805  was  apprenticed  to  a  journeyman  with  whom  he 
served  but  two  years.     Still  another  molder  relates  that  in 

9  Proceedings,  1912,  pp.   134,  244. 

10  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  January,  1886,  p.  3. 

11  Proceedings,  1886,  pp.  51,  57. 

12  Constitution,   1912,  art.  9,  sec.  I. 


176  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [[564 

1848  he  was  apprenticed  to  the  trade  for  six  years  and 
thirteen  days.  With  the  formation  of  local  unions,  a  term 
of  four  years,  then  more  or  less  customary  in  all  trades, 
became  the  rule.  This  term  was  adopted  by  the  general 
union  in  1859  and  it  has  since  remained  standard.  On 
several  occasions  unsuccessful  attempts  have  been  made  to 
shorten  the  term.  Curtailment  of  the  term  has  been  op- 
posed because  the  union  believes  four  years  to  be  requisite 
for  mastering  the  trade  and  because  a  shorter  period  of 
service  would  result,  like  a  higher  ratio,  in  turning  out  too 
many  journeymen. 

In  the  early  days  of  the  American  molding  industry  boys 
were  often  apprenticed  to  the  trade  while  still  mere  chil- 
dren. It  was  not  uncommon  in  some  sections  for  boys  to 
begin  service  when  only  eleven  and  twelve  years  old.  Boys 
of  a  more  advanced  age,  however,  were  usually  preferred. 
In  1867  the  International  Union  provided  that  no  boy  should 
begin  the  trade  before  the  age  of  sixteen,  a  rule  which  has 
been  retained  down  to  date.  A  maximum  age  for  appren- 
tices was  also  maintained  for  a  few  years.  In  1870  it  was 
voted  to  "  admit  no  boy  to  the  trade  "  after  he  was  twenty 
years  old.  In  1882  twenty-one  years  was  made  the  upper 
limit  for  the  beginning  of  an  apprenticeship.  In  1895  this 
rule  was  rescinded  and  since  that  time  no  maximum  has  been 
imposed.  The  object  of  a  maximum  limit  was  to  exclude 
from  the  trade  men  considered  too  old  ever  to  become  good 
mechanics.  Within  recent  years  molding  machinery  has 
resulted  in  bringing  into  foundries  many  apprentices  well 
advanced  in  years. 

In  1870  President  Saffin  urged  upon  all  union  members 
the  duty  of  seeing  that  every  apprentice  became  a  good  jour- 
neyman, although  there  was  at  the  time  "  no  specific  law 
on  the  question."  A  capable  journeyman,  he  said,  made  a 
better  member,  tended  less  to  become  a  fixture  in  one  shop, 
and  did  not  fear  to  look  elsewhere  for  a  living.  In  1874 
it  was  provided  for  the  first  time  that  apprentices  were 


565^  APPRENTICES    AND    HELPERS  1 77 

not  to  serve  their  whole  time  on  "  any  one  piece,  pattern 
or  job  "  but  were  to  be  taught  all  the  different  work  made 
in  the  branch  at  which  they  were  engaged.  The  indenture 
system  of  1876  was  expected  to  do  big  things  by  way  of 
giving  boys  complete  trade  knowledge  because  it  made 
the  employer  responsible  for  giving  his  apprentices  thorough 
instruction.  Union  members  were  also  required  "to  assist 
every  legally  indentured  apprentice  in  securing  a  full 
knowledge  of  the  trade  "  and  to  discourage  their  steady  em- 
ployment on  "any  pattern,  job  or  piece."  When  the  in- 
denture system  proved  a  failure,  the  union  was  compelled 
to  fall  back  upon  its  own  resources  to  secure  proper  ap- 
prenticeship training. 

In  1892  it  was  the  sense  of  the  annual  conference  with 
the  Defense  Association  that  "  apprentices  should  be  given 
every  opportunity  to  learn  all  the  details  of  the  trade  thor- 
oughly "  and  that  "  each  apprentice  in  the  last  year  of  his 
apprenticeship  should  be  given  a  floor  between  two  jour- 
neymen molders,"  who,  "  with  the  foreman,  should  pay 
special  attention  to  his  mechanical  education  in  all  classes 
of  work."  ^^  The  1903  conference  further  recommended 
that  as  the  apprentice's  skill  improved  he  should  be  put  on 
better  grades  of  work  and  that  in  his  fourth  year  he  should 
be  given  some  of  the  very  best  work  on  a  floor  between  two 
journeymen.  These  provisions  remain  in  force  at  present. 
To  cover  shops  not  reached  by  the  agreement  the  union  pro- 
vided in  1902  that  each  member  use  his  influence  to  have 
every  recorded  apprentice  given  an  opportunity  on  all  kinds 
of  work. 

In  order  to  help  apprentices  acquire  a  general  knowledge 
of  the  trade  it  was  provided  in  1899  that,  "  wherever  prac- 
ticable," they  should  be  enabled  to  take  courses  in  mechan- 
ical drawing.^*  Subsequently  the  Molders  in  some  degree 
extended  their  favor  to  trade  schools,  although  their 
spokesmen  held  that  such  schools  would  "  never  be  a  sub- 

13  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  March,  1892,  p.  5. 
"  Proceedings,  1899,  p.  188. 
12 


178  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [[566 

stitute  for  an  intelligent,  comprehensive  apprenticeship  sys- 
tem." In  1912  it  was  provided  that  local  unions  should 
"endeavor  to  have  apprentices  take  a  course  in  a  technical 
school,  in  order  to  obtain  as  thorough  a  knowledge  of  tne 
trade  as  possible."  This  did  not  mean  that  the  organiza- 
tion was  willing  to  accept  technical-school  graduates  as  mem- 
bers, but  only  that  apprentices  should  be  encouraged  to  sup- 
plement their  shop  work  with  outside  training.  In  1899 
the  Molders  condemned  the  practice  of  putting  an  instructor 
over  apprentices.  It  was  declared  that  the  best  procedure 
was  to  place  the  boys  out  througn  the  shop  among  the 
journeymen  "that  they  may  learn  the  principles  of  union- 
ism as  well  as  molding."  ^^  In  spite  of  all  efforts  to  aid 
the  apprentice  in  becoming  a  fully-equipped  molder,  the 
editor  of  the  International  Holders'  Journal  in  191 3  con- 
fessed that  the  use  of  various  devices  and  business  methods 
which  furthered  specialization,  plus  the  practical  disappear- 
ance of  the  indenture  system,  still  tended  to  make  the  ap- 
prentice a  "one-job  man."  In  truth,  he  said,  the  labor  of 
the  apprentice  was  largely  "  being  secured  under  false  pre- 
tenses." " 

As  far  as  practicable,  the  Molders  have  always  insisted 
that  an  apprentice  serve  his  term  with  but  a  single  employer, 
on  the  theory  that  the  foundryman  who  uses  the  apprentice 
during  his  earlier,  less  productive  years  should  also  have  his 
services  during  his  later,  more  productive  years.  Again, 
when  an  apprentice  serves  his  full  time  in  one  shop  the 
union  can  easily  see  to  it  that  he  fulfills  its  requirements  as 
to  years  of  service,  training,  competency  and  so  forth.  The 
Molders  have  never  made  it  a  rule  to  call  apprentices  out 
on  strike.  The  relations  between  employer  and  apprentice 
have  to  a  large  extent  been  looked  upon  as  a  personal,  not 
to  be  interrupted  by  any  action  of  the  journeymen.  In 
addition,  to  involve  apprentices  in  a  strike  ordinarily  has 

"Ibid.,  pp.  123,  135. 

18  International  Holders'  Journal,  May,  1913,  p.  406. 


567]  APPRENTICES    AND    HELPERS  1 79 

had  no  marked  effect  upon  the  issue  of  the  dispute.  In 
recent  years  it  has  been  provided  that  "the  president  and 
executive  board,  when  considering  the  probable  number  of 
men  who  might  become  involved  in  a  strike,  shall  include  all 
apprentices  employed  in  the  shop,  or  shops,  affected  as  en- 
titled to  financial  support."  ^^  For  the  term  1912-1917  a 
total  of  $69,363.94  in  strike  benefits  was  paid  apprentices. 
To  call  out  apprentices,  however,  is  still  the  exception  and 
not  the  rule. 

Helpers. — A  helper  may  be  defined  as  a  person  hired  to 
assist  a  skilled  journeyman  under  whose  supervision  he 
works.  He  is  employed  to  promote  the  work  of  another 
and  he  is  supervised  in  his  tasks  to  some  extent  by  the 
mechanic  whom  he  aids.  "  On  the  other  hand,  an  appren- 
tice is  one  who,  by  promise,  indenture  or  contract,  for  a 
specified  time,  is  taught  the  trade  by  a  master  of  the  trade 
or  someone  in  his  employ."  Helpers  are  not  engaged  pri- 
marily to  learn  a  trade  but  rather  to  supply  comparatively 
unskilled  labor.  Helpers  should  also  be  distinguished  from 
laborers  since  the  latter,  though  subordinate  to  other  work- 
men, are  in  no  way  responsible  to  them. 

Helpers  have  been  divided  by  the  leading  writer  on  the 
subject  into  three  classes,  remote  helpers,  helpers  proper, 
and  advanced  helpers.^*  The  first  group  are  little  more 
than  laborers  since  they  do  not  "  come  into  intimate  contact 
with  journeymen  in  the  performance  of  work."  In  the 
foundry  such  persons  have  been  used  to  cut  sand,  skim, 
shake  out  castings,  "  stag  the  ladle,"  and  the  like.  Helpers 
proper  work  along  with  journeymen  and  are  under  their 
supervision  much  or  all  of  the  time.  Such  helpers  are 
knows    as    "  berkshires "    or    "  bucks."  ^*     They    actually 

^'^  Constitution,  1912,  Standing  Resolution  No.  15. 

1*  J.  H.  Ashworth,  "The  Helper  and  American  Trade  Unions," 
in  the  Johns  Hopkins  University  Studies  in  Historical  and  Political 
Science,  Series  XXXHI,  No.  3.  pp.  9-12. 

18  The  term  "  berkshire  "  originated  in  England  where  it  was  de- 
rived in  some  way  from  the  name  of  the  county  Berkshire.  It 
was  used  by  English  molders  many  years  previous  to  the  develop- 


l80  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  {^568 

handle  patterns  and  do  the  less  skilled  part  of  preparing 
molds,  such  as  ramming  flasks.  Advanced  helpers  are  or- 
dinarily helpers  proper  "  in  transition  to  the  status  of  a 
full  mechanic."  In  short,  they  may  be  called  "  journeymen 
on  probation."  Helpers  of  this  kind  have  had  little  or  no 
place  in  the  molding  industry,  except,  perhaps,  in  some  un- 
organized  shops. 

Prior  to  the  rise  of  unions  during  the  fifties  it  was  the 
custom  of  the  trade  for  every  piece-working  journeyman 
to  employ  from  one  to  five  helpers  to  assist  him  in  handling 
flasks,  preparing  the  mold  and  doing  other  work  of  a 
comparatively  unskilled  character.  These  men,  or  boys,  as 
they  often  were,  received  their  wages,  not  from  the  foundry- 
man  but  from  the  molder.  The  primary  result  of  this 
system,  on  its  productive  side,  was  to  leave  the  expert  crafts- 
man free  to  perform  the  difficult  and  technical  parts  of  his 
work  since  the  low-grade  tasks  were  left  to  his  helpers. 
Under  ideal  conditions,  too,  the  wage  of  the  journeyman 
was  subject  to  increase  through  the  assistance  afforded 
him  by  cheaper  workmen  who  performed  operations  requir- 
ing little  ability.  By  having  helpers  assist  in  "lifting  oflf" 
and  "  closing "  large  flasks  the  molder  was  also  saved  the 
necessity  of  aiding  a  fellow  journeyman  on  work  of  that 
character,  thereby  saving  much  valuable  time.  The  helper 
system  saved  overhead  cost  to  the  employer  by  enabling  a 
single  molder  to  increase  his  output  to  such  a  degree  as  to 
jnake  it  unnecessary  to  provide  duplicate  patterns. 

In  spite  of  certain  advantages  in  the  helper  system,  as 
-■operated  "  from  time  immemorial,"  one  of  the  first  acts  of 
the  early  unions  was  to  oppose  it.  The  Philadelphia  union 
in  1855  ordered  that  no  member  "be  allowed  a  helper  for 
any  other  purpose  than  to  Make  Cores,  Skim  and  turn  out 
Castings  "  except  by  special  permission  of  the  organization. 
Should  any  molder,  whether  a  union  man  or  not,  violate  the 

ment  of  unionism  in  the  American  trade.  Its  introduction  into 
this  country  was  doubtless  due  to  the  immigrant  English  journey- 
xnan  of  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century. 


569]  APPRENTICES    AND    HELPERS  181 

rule,  it  became  the  duty  of  members  "  to  refuse  to  work  in 
the  Foundry  where  such  journeyman  is  employed."  ^^  Pro- 
visions much  the  same  were  adopted  by  the  Buffalo  and 
Troy  unions  in  1859.  The  opposition  of  the  unions  was 
due,  in  the  first  place,  to  the  fact  that  the  helper  system  was 
a  menace  to  the  maintenance  of  rates.  By  leaving  un- 
skilled work  to  the  helpers  a  piece  worker  could  greatly 
increase  his  earnings.  Consequently,  each  molder  became 
interested  in  handling  all  the  flasks  he  could  with  the  aid  of 
perhaps  four  or  five  "  bucks."  This  procedure,  however, 
tended  to  decrease  the  amount  of  work  open  to  other  jour- 
neymen and  eventually  it  resulted  in  a  decline  of  the  piece 
rate.  When  the  wage  dropped,  more  "  bucks  "  were  hired 
by  the  anxious  molders  and  thus  the  evil  was  aggravated. 
Secondly,  the  helper  often  picked  up  enough  of  the  trade 
to  qualify  for  a  molder's  place  in  case  the  latter  was  absent 
from  work  or  left  the  shop.  In  some  instances  foundrymen 
regularly  supplanted  journeymen  with  the  cheaper  helpers 
as  soon  as  the  latter  were  capable  of  making  one  or  two 
patterns.  Again,  when  a  helper  became  disgruntled  with 
the  wages  paid  him  by  a  journeyman,  he  frequently  set  up 
as  a  molder  himself  and  thus  intensified  competition  within 
the  trade.  From  the  journeyman's  point  of  view,  therefore, 
the  helper  appeared  to  menace  the  wage  scales  and  to 
threaten  a  flood  of  semi-skilled  mechanics  who  had  enough 
specialized  capacity  to  elbow  all-around  molders  out  of  jobs. 
His  operations  also  tended  to  weaken  the  effectiveness  of 
the  apprenticeship  system  and  to  endanger  the  journeymen's 
"  right  to  the  trade." 

In  opposing  the  helper  system  the  Molders  have  directed 
their  efforts  towards  two  ends,  (i)  "the  abolition  of  the 
prevailing  system  of  hiring  and  paying  helpers,  and  (2)  the 
abolition  of  all  helpers  proper  and  the  establishment  of  a 
definite  line  between  the  work  of  molders  and  that  of  remote 
helpers."     These  two  purposes  have  been  pursued  together 

20  Journeymen  Stove  and  Hollow-ware  Moulders'  Union  of  Phila- 
delphia, Constitution  and  By-Laws,  1855,  art.  6,  sec.  5. 


1 82  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  ^570 

although  the  first  has  been  "  deemed  necessary  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  the  second,  which  was  the  real  considera- 
tion." 2^  Accordingly,  while  the  abuses  of  the  employment 
system  have  been  sharply  attacked,  the  union  has  had  as 
its  ultimate  object  the  retention  of  the  trade  primarily  for 
craftsmen  who  have  served  an  apprenticeship. 

Action  against  helpers  was  first  taken  by  the  general 
union  in  i860.  It  was  then  unanimously  adopted  in  con- 
vention "  that  we  as  a  body  emphatically  discountenance 
the  Helper  or  Bucksheer  system  and  that  it  be  abolished  as 
soon  as  practicable."^^  Attempts  were  made  by  several 
local  unions  during  the  sixties  and  seventies  to  prevent  the 
use  of  helpers,,  but  these  efforts  were  not  generally  success- 
ful. Actual  prohibition  of  the  employment  of  helpers  did 
not  come  until  1873,  when  President  Safifin  decided  that  no 
piece  worker  could  work  a  helper  who  assisted  him  in  actual 
molding,  whether  the  helper  was  paid  by  himself  or  by  the 
foundryman.  All  members,  however,  were  allowed  to  em- 
ploy "  persons  "  to  "  skim,  shake  out  and  cut  sand,  but  for 
no  other  purposes."  It  was  also  decided  that  "any  em- 
ployer demanding  of  members  that  they  shall  .  .  .  work 
*  Bucks '  .  .  .  shall  constitute  a  lockout."  ^^  With  the  ap- 
proval of  these  rulings  by  the  1874  convention  the  interna- 
tional union  specifically  sanctioned  the  employment  of  help- 
ers for  only  a  few  purposes  and  their  payment  by  the  jour- 
neymen. Since  some  kinds  of  molding  involved  work  too 
heavy  for  one  man  to  handle,  permission  was  soon  sought 
to  use  helpers  on  jobs  of  this  character  as  an  exception  to 
the  general  rule.  In  1882  President  Fitzpatrick  yielded  to 
the  importunities  of  piece-working  car-wheel  molders  and 
allowed  them  to  use  helpers  paid  by  the  foundrymen.  Ap- 
peal from  this  decision  was  taken  by  other  piece-working 
members  engaged  upon  large  castings  on  the  ground  that 

21  Ashworth,  pp.  67-68.  The  opposition  of  journeymen  molders  to 
the  helper  system  has  generally  been  seconded  by  apprentices. 

22  Proceedings,   i860,  p.  9. 

23  Ibid.,  1874,  pp.  21,  24. 


571 J  APPRENTICES    AND    HELPERS  1 83 

discrimination  had  been  shown,  but  the  ruling  was  upheld 
in  convention  and  no  further  concessions  were  made. 

How  persistently  the  "  berkshire "  system  held  on  can 
be  seen  from  the  numerous  cases  of  discipline  for  "  running 
bucks"  reported  during  the  nineties  by  the  stronger  local 
unions.  However,  by  constant  pounding,  the  union  proved 
able  gradually  to  overcome  the  insistence  of  employers  and 
the  greed  of  individual  molders.  Finally,  in  1899,  after  the 
union  had  almost  stopped  the  payment  of  helpers  proper  by 
journeymen  and  their  employment  at  molding  processes,  it 
felt  strong  enough  to  proclaim  that  members  should  cease 
paying  for  the  services  of  helpers  used  to  skim,  cut  sand 
and  shake  out. 

The  next  step  was  to  approach  the  Stove  Founders'  Na- 
tional Defense  Association  in  favor  of  an  agreement 
whereby  helpers,  or  "  berkshires,"  were  to  be  barred  from 
all  association  shops.  In  many  such  plants  foundrymen 
had  already  relinquished  the  employment  of  helpers  and  the 
union  felt  that  a  clean  sweep  could  be  made  provided  the 
Association  would  urge  the  remaining  concerns  to  pursue 
the  same  course.  When  the  resolution  for  such  a  vote  was 
first  proposed  by  President  Fox,  the  Defense  Association 
agreed  thereto,  provided  the  union  would  sanction  a  higher 
apprentice  ratio  than  the  prevailing  ratio  of  one  to  eight.-* 
No  agreement  was  reached,  but  each  group  offered  to  test 
the  sentiment  of  its  membership  upon  the  points  involved. 
When  President  Fox  explained  the  situation  to  the  1899 
convention,  it  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  a  higher 
ratio  although  it  instructed  the  conference  committee 
to  get  rid  of  the  disliked  "bucks."  In  1900  the  question 
was  again  taken  up  in  conference.  Once  more  the  Asso- 
ciation made  a  liberalization  of  the  apprentice  ratio  the 
price  for  its  agreement  to  the  total  prohibition  of  "  bucks." 
After  a  "mutual  understanding"  had  been  reached  in  1902 
that  the  few  stove  manufacturers  still  employing  "  bucks  " 


2*  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  April,  1899,  p.  162. 


184  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [572 

should  discontinue  the  practice,  the  matter  was  completely 
settled  in  1904,  when  the  union  consented  to  a  ratio  of  one 
apprentice  to  each  five  journeymen. 

The  use  of  "  unskilled  help  "  on  "  sand  cutting  and  work 
of  like  character  "  was  fully  agreed  to  by  the  union  repre- 
sentatives at  the  1902  conference  with  the  Defense  Asso- 
ciation in  conformity  with  the  organization's  tolerance  for 
the  use  of  helpers  of  this  class.  Nothing  was  said  in  the 
agreement,  however,  about  the  hiring  or  payment  of  these 
persons.  As  a  matter  of  practice,  quite  contrary  to  the 
union's  rule  of  1899,  helpers  of  this  description  were  usually 
em.ployed  and  paid  by  the  journeymen  in  all  of  the  im- 
portant stove  foundries.  Consequently,  the  arrangement 
was  continued  in  most  places.  In  1912  the  convention  de- 
clared once  more  that  all  laboring  work  should  be  paid  for 
by  foundrymen  and  urged  that  an  efifort  be  made  to  secure 
an  agreement  with  the  Defense  Association  in  harmony  with 
this  position.  Until  such  an  understanding  could  be 
reached,  no  member  was  tO'  employ  any  helper  under  six- 
teen years  of  age.  Yet  in  recognition  of  the  union's  in- 
ability to  prohibit  the  payment  of  helpers  by  piece  workers, 
the  rules  of  1899  and  previous  years  were  dropped  and  in 
their  place  was  adopted  the  recommendation  "that  the  in- 
coming officers  do  all  in  their  power  to  discourage  the  sys- 
tem of  helpers  by  any  member  working  under  the  piece- 
work system."  ^^  In  most  stove  shops  today,  however,  the 
molders  either  pay  helpers  to  cut  sand  and  to  do  the  other 
unskilled  work  or  else,  if  the  helpers  are  paid  by  the  found- 
rymen, the  molders  accept  a  discount  on  their  piece  rates 
to  compensate  the  employers. 

At  present  in  car-wheel  shops  and  other  establishments 
where  large  castings  are  made  the  helper  proper  has  prac- 
tically replaced  the  apprentice,  although  as  a  rule  he  does 
not  finish  molds.  He  does,  however,  prepare  the  chill, 
insert  the  pattern,  ram  the  flask,  and  assist  in  pouring  off. 

25  Proceedings,  1912,  p.  248. 


5733  APPRENTICES    AND    HELPERS  1 85 

Generally  speaking,  it  can  be  said  that  "  in  shops  where 
small  castings  are  made,  the  work  of  the  helper  is  so  re- 
mote from  that  of  the  molder  that  helpers  have  little  oppor- 
tunity to  learn  the  more  skilled  processes  of  molding.  In 
such  cases  the  apprentice  system  prevails."  In  plants  mak- 
ing large  castings,  however,  if  a  considerable  variety  of 
work  is  turned  out,  helpers  have  an  opportunity  to  be  pro- 
moted to  the  position  of  molders  and  are  so  advanced  if 
they  show  special  aptitude.  Thus,  while  the  journeymen 
have  been  able  to  restrict  the  helper  in  a  large  degree  to 
work  requiring  little  skill,  they  have  not  found  it  feasible 
to  "  clear  the  boards."  ^^  Nor,  indeed,  as  shown  above, 
have  they  been  able  to  compel  employers  to  pay  all  helpers. 

28  Ashworth,  p.  71. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

Molding  Machinery 

As  early  as  i860  English,  Scotch,  French  and  American 
inventors  interested  themselves  in  experiments  with  me- 
chanical sand-rammers.  For  the  most  part  their  efforts 
suffered  from  being  too  ambitious  and  no  practical  results 
were  achieved.  The  first  attempted  use  of  molding  ma- 
chinery in  America  appears  to  have  occurred  in  1866  when 
the  molders  of  Troy  were  confronted  with  a  machine  which 
had  been  set  up  in  a  local  shop  to  offset  a  strike.  The  pro- 
moters of  the  device,  which  was  known  as  the  "  Yankee 
Molder,"  claimed  at  first  that  it  could  "  do  the  work  of  ten 
men."  For  a  brief  period  it  was  "  held  as  a  rod  of  terror 
over  the  men  until  its  merits  were  tested."  In  spite  of 
"  almost  superhuman  efforts,"  the  machine  proved  a  "  miser- 
able failure  "  and  was  "  sent  off  to  other  regions."  ^  Yet 
the  progress  of  mechanical  research  went  on.  As  soon  as 
attention  was  given  to  the  perfection  of  one  step  at  a  time, 
devices  were  discovered  which  paved  the  way  for  really 
workable  machines. 

Probably  the  most  elementary  molding  machine  was  the 
sand-match  which  relieved  the  necessity  of  making  a  parting 
by  hand.  It  is  extensively  used  today  and  is  supplemented 
on  large  work  by  the  foUow-board.  Succeeding  these  in- 
struments came  the  match-plate,  the  stripping-plate  and 
the  stripping-plate  machine.  All  of  these  devices  were 
hand-ramming  machines,  and  while  they  assisted  in  draw- 
ing the  pattern  and  prevented  waste  in  patching,  they  in 
no  way  relieved  the  manual  labor  of  ramming  and  handling 
the  sand.-  While  hand-ramming  machines  were  being  per- 
fected the  power  rammer  was  also  being  gradually  devel- 

1  International  Journal,  June,  1866,  p.  89. 

2  J.  C.  Mills,  Searchlights  on  Some  American  Industries,  p.  213. 

186 


5751  MOLDING   MACHINERY  1 87 

oped.  "The  first  machines  of  this  kind  used  extensively 
in  this  country  were  the  hand  squeezers,  through  which 
power  was  transmitted  by  levers  or  toggles  to  press  the 
sand  to  the  required  hardness.  They  materially  assisted 
the  molder  in  ramming  and  were  generally  employed  in 
connection  with  the  sand-match  or  match-plate."  Patterns 
still  had  to  be  drawn  by  hand,  however.  From  one  ac- 
count the  first  squeezer  was  invented  by  J.  P.  Broadmeadow 
of  Bridgeport,  Connecticut,  about  1875.  By  1886  inventors 
had  produced  squeezers  which  were  operated  by  mechanical 
power.  The  squeezer,  which  has  always  been  used  for 
handling  comparatively  small  patterns,  was  followed  by 
pneumatic,  hydraulic,  or  steam  presses  capable  of  ramming 
large  pieces.  Jarring  machines,  in  combination  with  pat- 
tern-drawing and  pressure-ramming  devices,  were  next  de- 
veloped. The  latest  and  most  complete  invention  has  been 
the  automatic  molding  machine  which  is  "  neither  a  mere 
ramming  device  nor  a  mere  pattern-drawing  machine,  al- 
though it  performs  both  these  important  functions  in  a 
perfect  manner.  Under  the  control  of  a  single  operator 
it  performs  all  the  work  necessary  to  complete  a  perfect 
mold  in  the  shortest  possible  time."  Some  of  the  machines 
used  today  "  will  take  flasks  up  to  seven  or  eight  feet  in 
diameter,  and  in  the  square  type,  up  to  eight  feet  width 
or  fourteen  feet  in  length."  ^  While  the  heavier  machines 
have  been  introduced  to  a  considerable  extent,  the  squeezer 
has  found  the  greatest  favor  because  there  are  more  small 
than  large  castings  to  be  made  and  because  it  is  generally 
agreed  that  molding  machines  operate  best  on  small  pat- 
terns. It  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  number  of  machines 
of  different  types  now  in  operation. 

There  has  been  considerable  discussion  as  to  how  far 
molding  machinery  excels  hand  processes  in  speed  and 
efficiency.  In  1908  a  committee  reported  to  the  Stove 
Founders'    National   Defense   Association   that   while   the 

'  Ibid.,  pp.  208,  224-227. 


l88  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [576 

output  of  any  machine  would  vary  with  the  type  of  ma- 
chine, the  size,  weight,  and  style  of  patterns  and  pattern 
rigging,  the  molding  costs  on  stoves  made  with  the  use  of 
machines  varied  from  thirty  to  fifty  per  cent  below  the 
costs  of  hand  molding.  It  was  acknowledged,  however, 
that  to  this  general  statement  many  notable  exceptions 
could  be  found  since  in  some  cases  of  bench  molding  the 
reduction  would  amount  to  little  more  than  twenty  per  cent, 
while  in  other  instances  the  reduction  would  reach  about 
sixty-six  per  cent  of  the  floor  or  bench  prices  for  hand 
molding.  The  committee  also  admitted  that  there  were  cer- 
tain items  of  cost  that  tended  to  offset  the  economy  of  ma- 
chine molding.  Such  factors  were  the  cost  of  extra  help 
for  handling  iron,  flasks  and  sand,  the  cost  of  making 
changes  in  patterns,  and  the  depreciation  of  and  repairs  to 
machinery.  The  committee  did  not  consider  such  items  of 
great  importance*  It  is  interesting  to  observe,  however, 
that  officers  of  the  union  believe  that  the  off-setting  costs 
are  generally  greater  than  foundrymen  or  machine  makers 
are  willing  to  acknowledge.  Whatever  the  exact  figures  on 
cost  may  be,  we  can  be  sure  of  one  thing,  that  molding  ma- 
chinery, properly  employed,  effects  a  saving ;  otherwise  such 
machinery  would  never  have  achieved  its  present  degree  of 
popularity. 

The  first  important  efforts  to  introduce  the  use  of  mold- 
ing machines  in  America  took  place  in  the  eighties.  Gener- 
ally speaking,  union  men  then  maintained  that  molding 
machines  had  been,  and  would  continue  to  be,  failures. 
For  example,  it  was  pointed  out  that  when  the  McCormick 
Harvesting  Machine  Company  endeavored  to  defeat  a  strike 
in  1885  by  the  use  of  eighteen  machines,  it  found  them  un- 
workable. In  1889  it  was  said  that  there  were  hundreds  of 
squeezers  "  lying  around  useless,  except  as  they  may  be  used 
as  benches  in  a  large  number  of  the  malleable  and  hardware 
shops  of  the  country,  and  employers  who  have  long  since 

*  Report  of  Committee  on  Machinery,  p.  12. 


577]  MOLDING   MACHINERY  1 89 

proved  their  uselessness  would  be  glad  to  dispose  of  them  at 
any  price."  ^  With  the  leaders  of  the  union,  however,  the 
possibilities  of  molding  machinery  were  not  so  lightly  put 
aside.  In  1880  an  editorial  statement  in  the  official  union 
journal  held  that  although  machines  had  "  so  far  been  fail- 
ures in  one  and  the  most  important  point,  that  of  cost,"  yet 
there  could  "  be  no  reasonable  doubt "  that  in  time  they 
would  "  be  made  successful  for  certain  kinds  of  work,  both 
as  regards  speed  and  cost."*  From  the  very  first  the  offi- 
cers realized  that  the  machine  was  coming  and  that  no  action 
of  theirs  could  stop  it.  During  the  last  half  of  the  nineties 
foundrymen  began  to  make  more  use  of  machinery.  It  be- 
came increasingly  evident  that  on  bench  work,  where  the 
same  piece  was  made  over  and  over  again,  the  squeezer  was 
obtaining  fair  success.  Jolting  and  jarring  machines  for 
larger  work  were  also  finding  place  in  many  establishments. 
The  editor  of  the  official  journal  of  the  union  became  more 
and  more  apprehensive  over  the  inroads  of  labor-saving  de- 
vices. In  1896  he  claimed  that,  although  machinery  had 
come  into  the  foundry  as  well  as  into  other  industrial  estab- 
lishments, "  it  would  seem,  however,  that  in  some  branches 
of  our  trade,  unless  a  machine  can  be  devised  which  is  pro- 
vided with  reasoning  power,  human  effort  guided  by  human 
intelligence  must  always  be  employed."  ^  One  year  later  the 
editor  admitted  that  the  trade  was  by  no  means  "  proof 
against  the  genius  of  the  inventor  "  even  though  many  mold- 
ing machines  had  been  "  signal  failures."  *  At  about  the 
same  time  he  noted  that  the  McCormick  and  Deering  har- 
vesting machinery  plants  had  successfully  employed  un- 
skilled men  on  certain  types  of  machines. 

In  general,  union  molders  at  first  "  ignored  the  machine. 

5  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  November,  1889,  p.  3. 

^  Ibid.,    January,    1880.    p.    13. 

T  Ibid.,  February,  1896,  p.  65.  A  similar  notion  was  held  by  many 
printers  prior  to  the  introduction  of  the  linotype.  President  Sylvis 
also  said  in  1866  that  molders  need  never  fear  machinery,  because 
it  would  take  "  a  thinking,  machine  to  make  castings." 

8  Ibid.,  May,  1897,  p.  221. 


190  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  CS?^ 

They  refused  to  work  on  it.  They  made  no  effort,  except 
in  rare  instances,  to  exclude  it  and  did  not  attempt  to  regu- 
late its  introduction  to  any  extent."^  Its  operation  was 
mostly  carried  on  with  apprentices  and  unskilled  workmen. 
As  time  went  on  the  attitude  of  the  journeymen  changed  and 
they  agreed  to  operate  the  machine  so  long  as  there  was 
union  control  of  piece  prices,  etc.  They  generally  made  no 
effort,  however,  to  bring  out  the  best  quahties  of  the  various 
devices  but  evidently  endeavored  to  make  them  as  unprofit- 
able as  possible  with  a  view  to  restricting  their  increase. 

In  1897  the  editorial  columns  of  the  official  journal  of  the 
union  began  to  advocate  a  liberal  machine  policy.  The  fol- 
lowing statement  is  typical :  "  The  experience  of  other  trades 
and  our  own  experience  in  the  matter  of  labor-saving  de- 
vices point  conclusively  to  the  ultimate  triumph  of  invention. 
...  It  is  the  height  of  folly  to  attempt  to  prohibit  or  even 
to  oppose  the  introduction  of  labor-saving  machinery.  All 
efforts  in  that  direction  are  doomed  to  ignominious  failure. 
...  As  a  trade  organization,  we  would  not  be  justified  in 
assuming  a  position  of  antagonism  .  .  .  ,  but,  profiting  by 
the  example  of  the  printers,  should  seek  in  every  way  to 
control  its  operation."  ^°  From  the  same  source  came  the 
statement  that  already  machinery  had  thrown  additional 
work  to  journeymen,  either  directly  or  indirectly.  A  cheap- 
ened cost  of  production,  it  was  pointed  out,  had  led  to  an 
increased  demand  for  iron  manufactures  and  thus  had 
"  served  to  offset  to  a  considerable  extent  the  displacement 
that  would  otherwise  have  occurred."  ^^  Taking  the  above 
quotations  as  a  whole,  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more 
correct  analysis  of  the  economics  of  machinery  anywhere 
else  in  the  annals  of  trade  unionism. 

At  the  1899  convention  President  Fox  advocated  the 
adoption  of  a  policy  which  would  recognize  the  facts  as 


^  E.  T.  Cheetham.  "  The  Molding  Machine,"  Johns  Hopkins  Uni- 
versity Circular,  April,  1907,  p.  ZT- 
1°  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  May,   1897,  p.  222. 
"  Ibid.,  July,  1898,  p.  330. 


579]]  MOLDING   MACHINERY  IQI 

they  were.  He  urged  that  all  members  agree  to  work  ma- 
cines  with  the  intention  of  bringing  out  their  full  capacity, 
provided  satisfactory  agreements  as  to  wages  could  be  made. 
The  organization  then  would  be  in  a  position  where  it  could 
hope  to  control  the  machine  and  prevent  the  trade  from  sink- 
ing to  the  level  of  unskilled  labor.  If  union  men  did  not 
drop  their  "  old-time  prejudices  "  and  endeavor  to  control 
the  machine,  Fox  warned  that  in  time  the  machine  would 
control  them.^^  The  convention  yielded  to  the  president's 
advice  and  voted  to  make  it  the  policy  of  the  union  to  estab- 
lish jurisdiction  over  the  molding  machine  operator,  to  ad- 
vise and  instruct  members  "  to  accept  jobs  upon  any  mold- 
ing machine  when  the  opportunity  is  afforded,  and  to  en- 
deavor to  bring  out  their  best  possibilities,"  and  to  bring  the 
question  of  machine  operation  and  control  before  the  various 
foundrymen  or  foundrymen's  associations.^^ 

The  Iron  Holders'  Journal  at  once  hailed  the  adoption  of 
the  resolution  as  "the  beginning  of  a  new  era"  in  the  history 
of  the  organization  which  was  now  placed  "  in  the  front 
rank  of  progressive  trade  unionism."  It  was,  of  course, 
true  that  the  liberals  had  won  a  victory  over  the  conserva- 
tives. Yet  the  realization  of  the  union's  ambitions  were 
far  from  being  achieved  by  the  mere  announcement  of  a 
policy.  Would  the  comparatively  unskilled  machine  oper- 
ators join  the  union  which  had  extended  its  jurisdiction  over 
them?  Would  union  journeymen  work  on  machines  at  all 
and,  if  so,  would  they  try  to  produce  a  normal  output? 
Would  employers  give  journeymen  jobs  on  machines? 
What  wage  scales  should  be  adopted  for  machine  work? 
These  were  the  main  questions  which  now  perplexed  the 
union  in  its  search  for  a  solution  of  the  machine  problem. 

Although  the  executive  board  was  authorized  to  proceed 
as  rapidly  as  possible  with  the  organizing  of  machine  oper- 
ators, it  was  not  until  April,  1901,  when  two  local  unions  in 
Indianapolis  led  the  way  in  announcing  their  desire  to  organ- 

12  Proceedings,  1899,  p.  il. 

13  Constitution,  1899,  Standing  Resolution  No.  38. 


192  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [58O 

ize  the  machine  operators  in  their  jurisdictions,  that  permis- 
sion for  the  formation  of  an  operators'  local  union  was  se- 
cured. The  1902  convention  felt  the  need  for  action  and 
instructed  the  incoming  officers  to  organize,  wherever  pos- 
sible, "  all  competent  machine  operators,  radiator  molders, 
and  all  other  classified  specialist  molders,  granting  them  a 
separate  charter,  or  affiliating  them  with  locals  already  in 
existence,  as  circumstances  may  dictate."  ^*  As  in  1899, 
the  affiliation  of  the  machine  operator  was  regarded  as  a 
part  of  the  general  problem  produced  by  the  specialization 
of  the  trade  however  occasioned. 

In  1907  President  Valentine  reported  that  only  273  oper- 
ators had  been  taken  into  membership.  In  191 2  the  figures 
were  not  given,  but  it  was  stated  that  the  union  had  been 
successful  in  "  organizing  a  number "  of  men  within  the 
specialty.  At  present  the  union  refuses  to  state  how  many 
operators  belong  to  it. 

When  machine  operators  were  first  admitted  at  Indian- 
apolis they  were  required  to  have  served  an  apprentice- 
ship at  their  branch  of  two  years,  although  the  constitution 
of  the  union  required  four  years'  apprenticeship  or  actual 
work  at  the  trade  as  a  prerequisite  for  admission.  The 
executive  board  was  compelled  in  1903  to  rule  that  the  four- 
year  term  must  be  applied  to  all  branches  of  the  trade,  to 
machine  operators  as  well  as  to  others.  Considerable  pro- 
test was  aroused  by  the  decision  since  it  was  evident  that 
efficient  operators  could  be  trained  in  much  less  time  than 
four  years.  The  policy  remained  unchanged,  however, 
until  1906  when  the  executive  board  decided  that  where 
competent  operators  had  not  served  a  full  four  years  they 
were  to  be  granted  a  due  book  containing  a  certificate  of 
membership  giving  them  the  right  to  accept  jobs  on  ma- 
chines under  the  jurisdiction  of  any  local  union.  They  were 
not  entitled  to  do  work  on  the  floor  or  bench  unless  they 
had  fulfilled  the  four-year  apprenticeship.     In  later  years 

1*  Proceedings,  1902,  p.  760. 


58 1 ]  MOLDING  MACHINERY 


193 


it  was  decided  to  substitute  for  the  due  book  a  "machine 
molder's  card,"  stating  the  time  the  bearer  had  worked  on 
a  machine.  In  many  shops  where  machine  molders  have 
been  employed  few,  if  any,  apprentices  have  been  recog- 
nized. In  such  places  since  1906  special  union  cards  have 
been  granted  operators  who  have  had  less  than  four  years' 
experience  and  ordinary  cards  have  been  given  those  who 
have  had  that  experience.  In  1912  a  rule  was  made  for 
stove  shops  which  observed  the  regular  apprentice  ratio  of 
the  union,  namely,  one  boy  to  five  journeymen.  It  was  now 
provided  that  machine  molders  who  had  not  served  their 
four-years  time  would  not  be  allowed  to  work  in  these 
shops  unless  there  was  a  vacancy  in  the  number  of  appren- 
tices. In  other  words,  operators  under  these  circumstances 
were  to  be  considered  as  apprentices  and  could  not  be 
granted  a  card  of  any  sort  until  their  time  was  up.  The 
purpose  of  this  regulation,  it  would  seem,  was  simply  to 
restrict  the  use  of  machine  men. 

Quite  naturally,  journeymen  molders  did  not  eagerly  com- 
pete for  the  opportunity  of  operating  machines  just  as 
soon  as  the  union  adopted  its  policy  of  toleration.  Their 
prejudices  were  too  deep  seated  for  that.  Yet  very  soon 
after  a  union  molder  had  declared  in  1899  that  "  the  most 
contemptible  act  a  true  union  man  could  do  was  to  manipu- 
late a  molding  machine,"  a  Philadelphia  local  union  reported 
that  its  members  were  at  work  on  squeezers.^^  After  con- 
siderable urging  from  the  international  office  other  localities 
conformed.  On  the  manufacturers'  part  no  haste  was 
evinced  in  welcoming  journeymen  to  the  task  of  machine 
operation.  The  former  seemed  fairly  well  satisfied  with  the 
laborers  they  had  broken  in  and  expressed  the  fear  that 
union  molders,  especially,  would  endeavor  to  hamper  the 
output  of  machines  if  they  were  employed  thereon.  Found- 
rymen  sensed  the  machine  as  a  means  whereby  they  might 
escape  union  "  dictation,"  and  they  were  by  no  means  anx- 
ious to  restore  the  old  situation. 

15  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  August,  1899,  p.  413 ;  September,  p.  462. 
13 


194  "^^^   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [^582 

In  order  to  secure  the  machine  for  its  own  the  union 
resorted  both  to  peaceful  and  to  forcible  persuasion.  Its 
spokesmen  argued  that  a  skilled  molder  could  handle  a  ma- 
chine better  than  a  green  laborer.  The  latter  might  do  well 
enough  at  pulling  the  levers  on  a  squeezer,  but  when  it  came 
to  finishing  the  flask  the  molder  had  the  decided  advantage. 
On  all  rough  work,  in  fact,  the  "  Castle-Garden  man  "  might 
have  the  advantage  owing  purely  to  superior  physical 
strength,  but  the  finer  work,  it  was  held,  required  the  touch 
and  skill  of  a  molder.  The  union  also  argued  that  its 
members  stood  "pledged  to  bring  out  the  best  possibilities 
of  molding  machines  "  and  did  not  seek  to  get  control  so  as 
to  "limit  the  output  or  injure  the  reputation  of  the  ma- 
chine." Control  was  sought  because  it  was  the  "  interest  of 
the  individual  molder  and  part  of  the  work  of  his  organiza- 
tion to  retain  for  him  some  of  the  benefits  accruing  from 
the  introduction  of  labor-saving  machinery  in  the  foundry." 
"  Justice  to  the  machine  and  the  man  "  was  advocated,  it 
was  claimed.^^  As  the  foundrymen  in  most  instances  ap- 
peared unalifected  by  the  union's  philosophy,  sterner  means 
had  to  be  employed  before  actual  headway  was  made  in  the 
campaign.  Strikes  were  called  in  some  shops  where  sufift- 
cient  floor  or  bench  work  remained  to  make  the  journeymen 
a  factor  to  be  reckoned  with. 

Since  a  large  number  of  foundrymen  belonged  to  the 
National  Founders'  Association,  with  which  the  union  had 
a  conciliation  agreement,  it  soon  seemed  wise  to  have  the 
whole  question  settled  in  conference  as  far  as  the  Founders' 
shops  were  concerned.^^  In  June,  1900,  representatives  of 
the  union  met  with  the  administrative  council  of  the  Asso- 
ciation in  a  conference  at  which  the  machine  question  was 
taken  up.  The  Association  asserted  that  since  the  molding 
machine  was  a  product  of  the  machine  shop  and  not  of  the 

16  Ibid.,  November,  1899,  p.  583. 

17  By  1900  nearly  ten  per  cent  of  the  total  molding  force  emploj'ed 
by  the  National  Founders'  Association  were  machine  operators.  See 
below,  p.  200. 


583]  MOLDING   MACHINERY  I95 

foundry,  it  did  not  fall  under  the  "jurisdiction"  of  the 
molders  and  that  since  the  employer  had  produced  it  at  his 
own  expense,  he  should  have  the  right  to  operate  it  "in 
whatever  manner  he  may  elect,"  as  with  his  power  plant, 
cranes  and  other  equipment.  In  reply  the  union  proposed 
that  as  the  machine  was  "  but  an  improved  tool  designed  to 
cheapen  and  increase  the  product  of  the  molder  and  repre- 
sents both  additional  capital  invested  by  the  foundryman  in 
his  business  and  a  different  method  of  applying  and  utiliz- 
ing the  capital  of  the  molder,  we  recognize  that  each  is 
mutually  interested  in  the  manner  of  its  operation."  In  an 
amendment  then  offered  by  the  Association  to  the  union's 
resolution  it  was  conceded  that  the  machine  was  but  an 
"  improved  tool,"  yet  it  was  insisted  that  the  employer 
should  have  the  right  to  "  operate  in  whatever  manner  he 
may  elect."  The  conference  deadlocked  on  all  proposi- 
tions so  that  no  agreement  was  reached.^* 

At  the  conclusion  of  a  prolonged  strike  in  Cleveland  the 
union  was  able  to  obtain  satisfaction  in  part  of  its  claims  in 
a  local  agreement  reached  with  Association  members.  Sec- 
tion 8  of  the  agreement  read :  "  The  right  of  the  foundry- 
man  to  introduce  or  operate  molding  machines  in  his  foundry 
shall  not  be  questioned.  In  determining  who  shall  operate 
them,  regard  shall  be  given  to  how  their  best  possibilities 
can  be  brought  out,  and  how  the  work  can  be  most  econom- 
ically produced."  ^^  While  the  agreement  did  not  state 
definitely  that  molders  were  to  be  used  on  machines,  it  did 
not,  on  the  other  hand,  put  up  the  bars  against  them.  Vague- 
ness upon  this  point  was  due  partly  to  the  absence  of  a  na- 
tional understanding  and  partly  to  a  desire  to  leave  the  local 
situation  open  to  developments.  In  other  localities  individ- 
ual employers,  like  the  General  Electric  Company,  refused 
to  displace  laborers  in  favor  of  molders  until  a  national 
agreement  had  been  reached.     It  availed  little  in  these  cases 

^8  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  July,  1000,  pp.  385,  387. 
18  Ibid.,  March,  1901,  pp.  134,  136. 


196  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  C584 

to  point  out  instances  where  the  union's  international  offi- 
cers had  compelled  local  unions  to  renounce  restrictions  on 
machine  output  or  where  investigation  showed  that  molders 
could  operate  "  at  such  a  piece-work  price  as  to  bring  the 
total  cost  of  the  work  done  by  the  machine  down  to  a  figure 
comparing  very  favorably  with  the  best  figures  obtained  on 
the  same  machine  by  unskilled  labor."  ^^  The  best  the 
union's  leaders  could  do  under  the  circumstances  was  to 
urge  the  membership  to  accept  every  opportunity  for  ma- 
chine operation  with  the  intention  of  convincing  foundry- 
men  that  molders  could  be  trusted  to  bring  out  "  the  best 
possibilities "  of  the  different  devices. 

At  the  fifth  annual  convention  of  the  National  Founders' 
Association  held  in  1901  strong  sentiment  was  expressed, 
not  only  in  favor  of  the  machine  as  a  paying  device,  but 
also  in  advocacy  of  the  use  of  laborers  as  operators.  Only 
a  few  of  the  delegates  seemed  to  believe  that  laborers  were 
inferior  to  molders  on  machine  work.  Consequently,  it  is 
not  surprising  that  an  informal  conference  between  the  con- 
tending parties  in  April,  1902,  proved  unproductive  of  re- 
sults. On  this  occasion  the  union  took  the  ground  that  the 
manufacturers  were  unfair  in  rejecting  the  molder  operator 
before  he  had  been  tested.  Complaint  was  also  registered 
against  employing  laborers  on  "  simple  sucking  devices  used 
for  drawing  patterns  on  the  bench  "  on  the  ground  that  they 
were  "  machines."  On  real  machines,  it  was  claimed,  the 
i-operator  was  a  specialist  molder,  skilled  in  the  use  of  tools, 
rand  not  a  mere  "  handy-man."  In  reply  the  employers 
affirmed  that  the  machine  eliminated  all  skill  and,  therefore, 
■'it  would  be  absurd  to  put  a  molder  on  it  in  every  instance. 
Yet  the  Association  said  it  had  not  determined  to  refuse  em- 
ployment to  molders  as  operators,  but  had  left  each  member 
to  decide  his  own  policy.  It  was  admitted  that  it  had  been 
found  profitable  to  employ  molders  on  some  machines.  If 
the  union  would  agree  to  a  dififerential  in  wages  for  all 

^'^  Ibid.,  November,  1900,  p.  656, 


585^]  MOLDING   MACHINERY  I97 

molder  operators,  many  more  might  find  places.  A  similar 
result  would  ensue  if  journeymen  would  give  up  all  attempts 
to  restrict  output.  In  its  final  reply  the  union  admitted  that 
machine  operators  might  properly  be  subject  to  a  different 
wage  classification  than  the  skilled  molders,  yet  it  held  that 
"  it  was  absurd  to  class  them  as  laborers  and  unfair  to 
grade  their  earning  power  upon  that  basis."  ^^ 

With  the  conference  of  October,  1902,  it  became  evident 
that  the  Association  was  on  the  way  toward  dissolving 
friendly  relations  with  the  union.  The  Association  posi- 
tively refused  to  discuss  the  revision  of  the  New  York 
Agreement  or  adoption  of  a  shorter  workday,  the  two  things 
upon  which  the  union  then  lay  the  most  stress,  until  the 
machine  question  and  several  other  important  issues  were 
settled  to  its  satisfaction.  At  the  following  convention  of 
the  Association  in  November  the  machine  difficulty  was 
made  the  subject  of  a  "  very  drastic  resolution  "  which  held 
it  to  be  "  the  absolute  right  of  any  member  of  this  Asso- 
ciation to  operate  a  molding  machine,  or  any  mechanical 
device  to  further  molding,  in  such  manner  as  best  serves 
his  interest,"  and  which  pledged  the  strength  and  resources 
of  the  Association  to  the  support  of  a  member  making  such 
use  of  a  molding  machine."  "  In  1903  and  again  in  1904 
the  Association,  as  a  part  of  a  comprehensive  program, 
asked  for  the  adoption  of  an  agreement  which  would  abso- 
lutely nullify  the  union's  claims  concerning  the  machine. 
All  parts  of  the  proposed  plan  were  equally  objectionable 
to  the  latter  organization  so  that  no  headway  was  made  in 
reaching  any  kind  of  a  settlement  at  these  conferences. 
After  the  1904  meeting  the  Association  abrogated  the  New 
York  Agreement  and  the  union  lost  all  hope  of  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  machine  problem  in  machinery  and  jobbing 
plants  through  agreements  with  the  organized  foundrymen. 

The  machine  question  was  also  taken  up  with  the  Stove 
Founders'  National  Defense  Association.     The  conference 

21  Ibid.,  May,  1902,  p.  287. 

22  Ibid.,  December,  1902,  p.   1036. 


198  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  CS^^ 

of  March,  1905,  recognized  "the  desirabihty  of  introducing 
new  methods  and  machines  in  stove  foundries,  also  that 
such  processes  are  entitled  to  consideration  on  fixing  prices 
and  wages."  ^^  The  vagueness  of  this  treatment  of  the 
question  left  no  real  issue  settled.  In  1907  one  such  issue 
came  up  when  the  Association  asked  that  its  members  be 
granted  the  right  to  operate  machines  by  unskilled  labor. 
A  sub-committee,  to  which  the  resolution  was  referred, 
reached  some  "  mutual  understanding  "  which  was  not  trans- 
mitted to  the  public,  but  the  conference  itself  took  no  action. 
Whatever  this  settlement  was,  its  terms  certainly  did  not 
go  far  toward  favoring  the  common  laborer  since  journey- 
men molders  thereafter  continued  to  serve  as  operators  in 
increasing  numbers.  In  1908,  1909,  1910,  and  1912  the 
Defense  Association  again  asked  that  machines  in  members' 
shops  "  be  operated  in  any  manner  the  manufacturer  may 
desire."  The  employers  contended  that  the  molders  had 
shown  such  antipathy  to  machines  that  they  did  not  oper- 
ate them  to  their  full  capacity  and  that  common  labor  pro- 
vided superior  operators.  The  union  representatives  feared 
that  the  adoption  of  the  proposal  would  mean  the  exclusive 
employment  of  laborers  on  machines,  and  they  refused  to 
agree  to  it. 

Since  piece  work  prevailed  almost  entirely  in  the  stove 
branch,  it  seemed  wise  to  both  parties  to  the  conference 
agreement  to  apply  the  system  to  machine  output.  The 
only  serious  question  was  that  of  proper  rates.  This  prob- 
lem the  1908  conference  endeavored  to  solve  by  establishing 
a  basic  rate  of  $4.00  net  per  day.  What  the  normal  output 
of  a  certain  piece  should  be  was  to  be  determined  by  the 
work  of  an  expert  operator  furnished  by  the  employer. 
The  number  of  good  castings  made  by  a  test  run  of  one  day 
was  then  to  be  used  as  a  divisor  of  the  basic  wage  and  the 
result  of  the  division  was  to  be  the  piece  price.  By  a  "  ma- 
chine "  was  meant  "  primarily  the  simple  squeezer,  when 

23  Ibid.,  April,  1905,  p.  251. 


587]  MOLDING  MACHINERY  I99 

match  plates  are  used,  considering  this  the  lowest  type  of 
machine."  ^*  Inasmuch  as  this  arrangement  did  not  afford 
an  opportunity  for  equalizing  machine  prices  in  different 
shops  in  1912,  a  committee  of  three  from  each  side  was 
appointed  to  "  investigate  the  molding  machine  and  im- 
proved methods  of  molding  for  the  purpose  of  arriving  at 
a  fair  and  just  method  of  pricing  the  work."  ^^  No  agree- 
ment was  reached,  however,  until  1914,  when  the  original 
$4.00  basis  was  given  up  and  it  was  decided  to  price  all 
machine  work  by  comparison  with  the  rates  prevailing  at 
Taunton,  Massachusetts. 

Taunton  prices  were  chosen  because  the  Weir  Stove 
Works  of  that  city  had  been  operating  its  molding  machines 
with  non-union  laborers  for  about  four  years  and  it  had 
carefully  preserved  records  of  their  output.  During  the 
same  period  the  earnings  of  hand  molders  on  much  the  same 
class  of  work  as  that  put  up  by  the  machines  were  also 
kept  on  file.  Previous  to  the  1914  conference  the  Weir 
Company  decided  to  run  its  machines  with  union  members. 
Accordingly,  the  general  manager  and  a  vice-president  of 
the  union  proceeded  to  spend  considerable  time  in  adjusting 
new  prices  for  work  made  on  the  machines.  The  prin- 
ciple which  they  applied  in  determining  the  piece  rates  for 
machine  molders  was  that  the  prices  should  be  such  that 
a  molder's  total  earnings  would  not  be  reduced  because  he 
happened  to  be  placed  upon  a  machine.  For  example,  if 
a  hand  molder's  weekly  earnings  averaged  $25  per  week 
and  his  output  was  500  molds,  the  rates  for  the  machine 
were  so  set  that  he  could  still  earn  $25  weekly  on  the  aver- 
age, even  though  he  might  be  compelled  to  put  up  750  to 
1,000  molds.  The  machine  rates  were  set  for  a  molder 
working  at  normal  speed.  According  to  this  plan  the  firm 
obtained  a  lower  price  per  piece,  but  the  molders  were  en- 
abled to  secure  as  high  earnings  by  machine  work  as  they 
had  previously  been  making  by  hand  work.     In  other  words, 

2*  International  Molders'  Journal,  January,  1909,  p.  13. 
20  Ibid.,  January,  1913,  pp.  26,  28. 


200  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [588 

the  molders  were  saved  from  having  their  earnings  cut  to 
the  level  of  unskilled  labor. 

In  conclusion  we  may  consider  how  far  machine  intro- 
duction has  affected  the  strength  of  the  union.  It  is  of 
interest  in  this  connection  to  quote  from  a  writer  who  has 
given  detailed  attention  to  this  aspect  of  the  subject.  In 
closing  her  discussion  of  the  diverging  poHcies  of  the  union 
and  the  National  Founders'  Association,  Miss  Stecker 
says :  ^^ 

The  following  table,  based  on  figures  furnished  by  the  secretary  of 
the  National  Founders'  Association,  shows  the  per  cent  machine 
operators  were  of  the  total  molding  force  in  foundries  of  Associa- 
tion members  at  different  periods : 

1900 9.4  per  cent 

1905 14.4  per  cent 

1910 19.4  per  cent 

1913 22.8  per  cent 

In  the  same  time,  skilled  bench  and  floor  molders  changed  in 
relative  importance  to  the  total  molding  force  as  follows,  consti- 
tuting in 

1900 75.7  per  cent 

1905 63.0  per  cent 

1910 S4.3  per  cent 

1913 51.8  per  cent 

Comparing  these  two  groups,  it  appears  that  while  molding  ma- 
chine operators  have  increased  considerably  in  importance  in  pro- 
portion to  the  total  molding  force  in  Association  foundries,  skilled 
mechanics  have  been  displaced  at  a  more  than  proportionate  rate. 
It_  thus  would  seem  that  machine  operators  alone  cannot  be  charged 
with  having  driven  journeymen  from  their  accustomed  trade.  Of 
nearly  as  great  importance  in  bringing  this  about  has  been  the  in- 
crease in  numbers  of  unskilled  specialty  molders.  Data  available 
do  not  permit  of  distinguishing  this  class  of  labor  from  apprentices 
in  1900,  but  the  increase  even  from  1905  to  1913  is  significant. 

Per  cent  specialty  molders  were  of  the  total  molding  force : 

1905 9.5  per  cent 

1910 15.0  per  cent 

1913 15.6  per  cent 

These  figures,  taken  in  connection  with  the  preceding  groups,  must 
not,  however,  be  used  as  conclusive  evidence  that  unskilled  work- 
men are  usurping  the  places  of  journeymen  in  the   foundries  of 

28  Stecker,  "  The  Founders,  the  Molders,  and  the  Molding  Ma- 
chine," in  the  Quarterly  Journal  of  Economics,  February,  1918,  pp. 
305-308. 


589J  MOLDING    MACHINERY  201 

members  of  the  National  Founders'  Association,  because  of  the  fact 
that  there  is  no  way  of  measuring  to  how  great  an  extent  the  class 
of  foundries  making  up  the  membership  of  that  body  has  changed, 
so  as  to  offer  a  wider  opportunity  for  the  employment  of  laborers. 
Nevertheless,  from  the  facts  available  it  seems  likely  that  while 
skilled  mechanics  continue  to  occupy  an  important  position  in 
Association  foundries,  their  place  is  gradually  being  taken  by  in- 
ferior craftsmen. 

How  this  tendency  compares  with  conditions  generally  cannot  be 
stated.  In  1910  the  National  Founders'  Association  employed  134 
per  cent  of  all  those  in  the  country  who  worked  at  the  trade  of 
molding.  Eighty-five  per  cent  of  its  members  run  open  shops.  It 
is  therefore  possible  that  among  those  foundries  where  union  in- 
fluence has  had  more  weight,  skilled  journeymen  are  of  relatively 
greater  importance  than  in  the  shops  of  the  Association.  Cer- 
tainly up  to  1908,  the  Union  had  succeeded  admirably  in  controUing 
the  machine  situation  in  the  shops  of  the  Stove  Founders'  National 
Defense  Association,  and  as  these  two  latter  bodies  never  came  to 
an  agreement  as  to  the  pricing  of  work  done  on  the  machines  until 
1914,  it  is  quite  likely  there  has  been  but  little  change  up  to  the 
present  time. 

The  Union  itself  offers  no  data  as  to  the  relative  importance 
within  its  membership  of  skilled  mechanics,  specialty  molders  and 
machine  operators.  Nor  is  there  any  satisfactory  means  of  esti- 
mating the  probable  composition  of  its  membership  at  the  present 
time  as  compared  with  twenty  years  ago.  It  seems  very  probable, 
however,  on  the  basis  of  known  facts,  that  even  though  the  num- 
bers over  a  given  period  are  substantially  identical,  a  smaller  and 
smaller  proportion  are  skilled  men. 

This  much  is  true:  molding  machines  have  made  serious  inroads 
upon  the  molders'  trade ;  the  employers  of  the  country  have  come  to 
realize  the  value  of  machines  and  are  using  them  in  ever  increas- 
ing quantities;  the  Molders'  Union  has  been  obUged  to  alter  its 
policy  at  a  number  of  points  to  allow  for  the  changed  conditions. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  not  true  that  machines  have  made  human 
skill  unnecessary  for  foundry  work.  There  is  still  a  great  demand 
for  trained  men.  Even  with  specialization  and  machine  molding, 
experts  are  required  to  set  cores,  finish  and  close  molds,  and  per- 
form other  similar  operations  demanding  the  application  of  tech- 
nique and  judgment.  Some  types  of  molding  are  as  yet  entirely  un- 
adapted  to  the  machine. 

According  to  the  leaders  of  the  union  the  machine  has 
had  httle  or  no  effect  toward  weakening  their  organization. 
On  the  other  hand,  they  do  not  represent  it  as  having  had  a 
strengthening  influence.  They  recognize  the  tact  that  in 
some  specialty  shops,  like  the  Ford  Motor  Company,  practi- 
cally all  the  molding  is  done  on  machines  by  non-union  men 
and  that  it  will  be  difficult  for  the  union  to  make  much 
headway  in  such  places.  In  a  majority  of  the  country's 
foundries   a   considerable   amount   of    hand   molding   sHll 


202  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  L59O 

obtains.  According  to  figures  just  quoted,  even  in  the  shops 
of  the  National  Founders'  Association  hand  molders  out- 
number machine  molders.  By  making  steady  gains  in  the 
membership  of  floor  molders  the  union  has  been  able  to 
maintain  a  large  degree  of  control  over  the  majority  of 
foundries  under  its  jurisdiction.  During  the  past  ten  years, 
especially,  the  union  has  been  able  to  increase  materially  the 
wages  of  its  members,  whether  floor,  bench  or  machine 
hands.  These  advances  have  been  gained  in  all  sorts  of 
shops,  embracing  stove,  machinery  and  jobbing,  bench,  and 
brass-molding  establishments. 

The  last  action  to  be  taken  by  the  union  upon  the  ma- 
chine question  came  at  the  1912  convention.  The  rule  was 
then  adopted  that,  as  "  handymen  "  operators  were  a  means 
of  throwing  molders  out  of  employment,  in  the  future  all 
molding  machines  must  be  operated  by  members  of  the 
union  or  apprentices.  It  was  further  provided  that  no  mem- 
ber be  permitted  to  teach  anyone,  save  another  member,  how 
to  run  a  machine,  on  pain  of  expulsion,  and  that  no  hon- 
orary member  be  allowed  to  act  as  a  foreman  over  machines 
unless  they  were  served  by  union  members.  In  recent 
years  the  union  has  been  conservative  about  adopting  pol- 
icies and  rules  which  are  at  all  difficult  to  carry  out.  It 
would  appear,  therefore,  that  the  union  today  is  confident 
of  its  ability  to  control  the  machine. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

The  Closed  Shop,  the  Label  and  the  Boycott 

The  Closed  Shop. — Insufficient  data  prevents  a  full  state- 
ment of  the  attitude  of  the  early  local  unions  toward  non- 
members.  Judging  from  other  trades,  such  as  the  printers, 
we  may  assume  that  union  molders  from  the  outset  ob- 
jected, in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  to  working  with  non- 
unionists.  In  particular  there  was  opposition  to  the  "  rat " 
or  "  scab  "  who  deliberately  violated  union  rules.  One  early 
form  of  scabbing  consisted  of  working  below  the  stand- 
ard wage  rate.  In  1855  the  Philadelphia  union  provided 
that  if  any  member  worked  for  less  than  the  piece  or  day 
prices,  it  should  be  the  duty  of  every  other  member  "to 
refuse  to  work  in  the  shop,  if  required  to  do  so  by  the 
Executive  Committee,  while  such  journeyman  is  employed 
at  a  reduced  price."  This  rule,  however,  only  applied  to 
shops  "  represented  "  in  the  union  by  an  executive  or  shop 
committee,  or  shops  over  which  the  organization  exercised 
some  control.  When  a  member  went  to  work  in  an  "  un- 
represented "  shop  he  was  given  a  card  exempting  him 
"  from  the  payment  of  Dues  and  the  Laws  in  regard  to 
prices  and  all  other  regulations  of  the  Union  that  may  not 
be  applicable  to  such  a  case."  Upon  his  return  to  a  "  rep- 
resented "  foundry,  the  member  was  required  to  deposit 
the  exemption  card  and  he  once  more  became  "  subject  to 
all  the  laws  and  regulations  "  of  the  union.^ 

Other  steps  in  the  evolution  of  the  closed-shop  rule 
cannot  be  traced.  However,  when  the  general  union  was 
formed  in   1859  it  had  become  an  accepted  principle  that 

1  Journeymen  Stove  and  Hollow-ware  Moulders'  Union  of  Phila- 
delphia, Constitution  and  By-Laws,  1855,  art.  2,  sec.  4;  art.  6,  sec. 
I.  Another  rule  of  the  union  required  a  pledge  from  each  initiate 
that  he  would  procure  employment  for  a  fellow  member  "  in  prefer- 
ence to  any  other  person  "  (By-Laws,  art.  4). 

203 


204  "^^^   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [^592 

non-members  should  be  excluded,  as  far  as  possible,  from 
working  with  unionists.  For  example,  on  April  i8,  i860, 
the  Troy  local  union  resolved  "  to  make  it  as  uncomfort- 
able ...  as  possible  "  for  an  expelled  member  and  on  June 
2,  1864,  it  was  voted  that  members  working  in  "  Watson's 
Shop  "  should  cease  work  because  one  of  the  shop's  crew 
had  refused  to  join  the  union.  On  July  2,  1864,  members 
were  forbidden  to  work  with  a  rejected  applicant  for  ad- 
mission and  on  September  8  members  in  good  standing 
were  instructed  to  stop  working  with  other  members 
who  refused  to  pay  a  strike  assessment  levied  by  the  Inter- 
national Union.^ 

Local  unions  for  several  years  had  a  free  hand  in 
scabbing  both  journeymen  and  employers  who  had  violated 
union  rules.  There  were  many  cases  of  expulsion  for  work- 
ing in  struck  shops  and  for  refusing  to  pay  dues  and  assess- 
ments. Expelled  members,  strike  breakers,  and  price-cut- 
ting non-unionists  were  all  labeled  scabs  and  were  strictly 
barred  from  union  shops.  Local  union  No.  8  of  Albany 
voted  in  1865  to  exclude  permanently  any  person  who  went 
to  work  in  the  scabbed  shop  of  one  Ransom  as  long  as  the 
proprietor  refused  to  run  a  union  establishment.  Other  in- 
stances can  be  found  where  stringent  resolutions  were 
adopted  against  ordinary  non-members.  For  example,  local 
union  No.  18  of  Louisville  voted  in  1866  that  after  July  5, 
1867,  no  member  "be  allowed  to  work  in  any  foundry" 
under  its  jurisdiction  "where  there  is  any  person  employed 
at  molding  who  is  not  a  member."  Non-unionists  "were 
respectfully  petitioned  to  join  on  or  before  the  fifth  day  of 
July,  1867,  or  be  forever  thereafter  deprived  of  such  privi- 
lege." 3 

While  some  local  unions  were  severe  in  their  attitude 
toward  non-unionists  in  general  and  scabs  in  particular,  it 
was  not  possible  for  others  to  pursue  a  policy  of  rigid  con- 

2  Troy  Local  Union,  Minutes,  MS. 

8  International  Journal,  December,   1866,  p.  256. 


5931  '^^^   CLOSED  SHOP,   LABEL,   AND   BOYCOTT  2O5 

trol  over  employment.  Accordingly,  when  the  international 
union  was  first  asked  to  make  a  general  rule  that  "  after 
a  certain  date  no  member  should  be  allowed  to  work  in  any 
scab  shop,"  action  on  the  measure  was  indefinitely  post- 
poned. Again,  in  1867  it  was  voted  bad  policy  "  for  union 
men  to  quit  work  on  account  of  non-union  men  working  in 
the  same  shop."*  But  while  it  favored  conciUatory  meas- 
ures in  lieu  of  hasty  action  against  non-members,  the  1867 
convention  voted  that  each  subordinate  union  should  re- 
quire union  cards  from  all  strange  journeymen  obtaining 
employment  under  its  jurisdiction.  Where  an  applicant 
for  work  had  never  had  an  opportunity  to  become  a  union- 
ist, he  was  to  be  admitted  to  the  shop,  provided  he  expressed 
a  desire  to  attain  membership  at  the  next  meeting  of  the 
union  "  and  provided  further,  that  members  ...  in  good 
standing  .  .  ,  always  have  the  preference  "  in  filling  vacant 
floors.®  From  this  time  onward  monthly  reports  from  local 
unions  frequently  contained  the  brief  warning,  "  No  card, 
no  work."  The  injunction  applied  both  to  non-unionists 
and  to  union  members  traveling  without  cards.  In  1874 
the  rule  of  1867  was  supplemented  by  a  provision  which 
ordered  local  unions  to  refuse  consent  to  "  members  going 
to  work  in  scab  or  non-union  shops  unless  they  have 
positive  hopes  of  recovering  such  shops."  ®  There  never 
has  been  a  time,  however,  when  the  union  has  had  a  hard 
and  fast  rule  forbidding  its  members  to  work  beside  non- 
members.  In  many  cases  it  has  proved  impracticable  to  at- 
tempt closed-shop  enforcement.  In  other  instances  non-mem- 
bers have  been  easily  excluded  from  employment.  Every 
local  union  has  understood  that  while  open  shops  are  to  be 
abolished  when  possible,  ill-advised  strikes  against  non- 
unionists  are  not  to  be  called.  In  view  of  these  considera- 
tions, it  has  not  been  deemed  necessary  for  international 
union  to  set  up  a  rigid  standard.  In  all  cases  a  policy  of 
expediency  has  been  followed. 

*  Proceedings,  1866,  p.  28;  1867,  p.  53. 
5  Constitution,    1867,   art.    11,   sec.   5. 
^  Proceedings,  1874,  p.  71. 


206  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [^594 

Between  i860  and  1870  the  Holders  pursued  the  closed- 
shop  policy  with  greater  vigor  than  any  other  union.  In 
1863  the  activity  of  the  organization  resulted  in  calling 
forth  a  protest  from  the  Iron  Founders'  and  Machine 
Builders'  Association  of  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  which  de- 
clared in  an  address  to  the  trade  that  discrimination  against 
non-unionists  meant  "  arbitrary  interference  with  the  busi- 
ness management "  of  employers/  From  this  time  onward 
many  foundrymen,  singly  or  collectively,  began  to  manifest 
determined  opposition  to  union  control.  Thus,  in  1881 
three  Quincy,  Illinois,  employers  complained  against  the 
rule  of  local  union  No.  44  "that  no  molder  shall  be  em- 
ployed who  is  not  satisfactory  to  those  already  employed  " 
and  declared  their  intention  to  employ  such  labor  as  "  ap- 
pears to  be  to  our  best  interests."  ^  In  still  other  instances 
employers  precipitated  strikes  by  trying  to  force  union 
members  to  sign  contracts  to  give  up  membership  in  the 
organization. 

When  the  first  joint  conference  with  the  Stove  Found- 
ers' National  Defense  Association  was  held  in  1891,  many 
association  members  were  operating  unorganized  shops. 
The  conference  at  once  decided  that  completely  non-union 
establishments  should  not  come  under  its  jurisdiction. 
After  some  discussion  it  was  also  agreed  that  open  shops 
should  be  subject  to  the  agreements  only  where  a  majority 
of  the  molders  employed  were  union  men.  Finally,  how- 
ever, it  was  provided  in  1898  that  even  in  open  shops  where 
union  men  were  in  a  minority  the  organized  molders  might 
submit  a  difficulty  between  themselves  and  their  employer 
to  the  presidents  of  the  two  associations,  or  to  their  rep- 
resentatives, whenever  the  dispute  could  not  be  settled 
locally  in  an  amicable  fashion.  This  ruling  resulted  in 
bringing  practically  all  stove  foundries  under  the  agree- 
ment, and  in  encouraging  non-members  to  join  the  union 

■^  Stockton,  "  The  Closed  Shop  in  American  Trade  Unions,"  Johns 
Hopkins  Studies  in  Historical  and  Political  Science,  Series  XXIX, 
191 1,  pp.  36-37. 

8  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  April,  1881,  p.  6. 


595^  "^^^   CLOSED  SHOP,   LABEL,   AND   BOYCOTT  207 

SO  that  their  grievances  might  be  heard.  At  the  conven- 
tions of  1895  and  1899  certain  delegates  strongly  urged  that 
action  be  taken  against  open  shops  by  "  demanding  from 
the  proprietors  who  are  members  of  the  Defense  Associa- 
tion, recognition  of  the  Union"  and  that  forthcoming  joint 
conferences  be  impressed  with  "the  absolute  necessity  of 
having  all  stove  shops  where  our  members  are  employed 
made  union  shops."  ^  These  ideas  met  with  approval  and 
at  the  1900  conference  the  Holders'  representatives  pro- 
posed that  all  members  of  the  Defense  Association  rec- 
ognize union  rules  and  regulations  as  binding  upon  their 
foundries.  Two  chief  arguments  were  advanced  in  favor 
of  universal  recognition.  It  was  asserted  that  since  all  but  ten 
or  twelve  association  members  were  running  "  practically 
union  shops,"  it  would  not  be  a  radical  measure  to  require 
complete  recognition.  It  was  also  urged  that  a  compulsory 
union  shop  would  tend  to  place  all  f  oundrymen  upon  "  an 
equitable  basis."  ^'^  Strong  opposition  to  the  proposal  was 
manifested  by  the  Association,  and  the  plan  failed  of  adop- 
tion. Seven  years  later  the  foundrymen  submitted  a 
counter  resolution  to  the  effect  than  no  molders  or  core- 
maker  be  refused  employment  in  or  be  discharged  from  any 
foundry  covered  by  the  joint  agreements  because  of  mem- 
bership or  non-membership  in  the  union.  A  sub-commit- 
tee appointed  to  consider  the  measure  succeeded  in  reaching 
an  understanding  substantially  in  accord  with  the  resolu- 
tion, but  the  conference  itself  took  no  action.  No  author- 
ized strikes  against  non-unionists  have  ever  taken  place  in 
association  foundries  nor  have  members  of  the  Association 
ever  contested  the  gradual  unionization  of  their  plants. 

The  "  open-shop  issue  "  played  an  important  part  in  bring- 
ing about  the  abrogation  of  the  New  York  Agreement  with 
the  National  Founders*  Association  in  1904.  Prior  to  that 
time  a  union  shop  was  recognized  by  the  machinery  and 
jobbing  foundrymen  in  some  cases  as,  for  example,  in  the 

»  Proceedings,  1895,  p.  86;  1899,  pp.  65,  173. 
10  Iron  Holders'  Journal,  April,  1900,  p.  187. 


208  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [596 

settlement  of  the  big  Cleveland  strike  in  1901.  Here  it  was 
provided  that  scabs  at  work  in  the  shops  affected  by  the 
strike  might  complete  the  period  for  which  they  were  under 
contract.  Foundrymen  were  also  given  forty  days'  time 
in  which  to  dispose  of  other  non-union  employees  with 
whom  no  contracts  had  been  made.  At  the  conclusion  of 
the  periods  stated  union  men  only  were  to  be  employed  un- 
less it  developed  that  the  supply  of  unionists  failed  to  pro- 
vide the  firms  with  the  necessary  number  of  molders. 
During  the  three  years  following  the  adoption  of  the  Cleve- 
land settlement  the  Founders  increasingly  manifested  their 
disposition  to  regard  the  degree  of  organization  as  a  ques- 
tion with  which  the  New  York  Agreement  was  not  con- 
cerned, and  in  1904  they  insisted  that  the  union  definitely 
recognize  the  open  shop.  The  demand  was  refused.  Rep- 
resentatives of  the  union  pointed  out  that  at  no  time  had 
their  organization  requested  a  general  understanding  in 
favor  of  the  closed  shop.  After  the  agreement  was  ab- 
rogated the  Founders  began  an  active  campaign  against  the 
closed  shop.  At  the  present  time  many  foundries  affiliated 
with  the  Association  are  again  operating  "  strict  union 
shops  "  in  spite  of  that  organization's  open-shop  pronounce- 
ments. 

In  enforcing  the  simple  closed  shop  there  have  been  some 
instances  where  local  molders'  unions  have  allowed  no  men 
without  union  cards  to  begin  work  in  fully  organized  shops. 
As  a  general  rule,  however,  ordinary  non-members  who 
have  had  no  "  record  "  have  been  permitted  to  obtain  employ- 
ment in  such  establishments  on  condition  that  they  apply 
for  membership  within  from  twenty-four  to  forty-eight 
hours  after  beginning  work.  Suspended  members  have 
rarely  been  in  good  favor.  In  practice  they  have  been  con- 
sidered even  more  undesirable  than  ordinary  non-members, 
especially  when  their  suspension  has  been  due  to  gross 
carelessness  or  indifference.  Particular  opprobrium  has 
attached  to  the  journeyman  who  has  refused  to  pay  his  dues 
while  working  in  an  open  shop.     When  suspension  has  been 


5973  THE   CLOSED  SHOP,   LABEL,   AND   BOYCOTT  209 

caused  by  a  member's  poverty,  no  objection  has  ordinarily 
been  made  against  his  continued  employment  for  a  reason- 
able time  with  members  in  good  standing.  Expelled  mem- 
bers and  scabs  have  never  been  allowed  to  work  with 
unionists  except  where  the  organization  has  been  tempo- 
rarily unable  to  object.  During  sharp  jurisdictional  fights 
members  of  rival  unions  have  been  treated  much  the  same 
as  scabs.  Honorary  members  returning  to  the  trade  have 
been  required  to  take  out  active  cards  before  going  to  work 
in  union  shops.  Foremen  who  "  work  on  the  floor  "  have 
not  been  entitled  to  honorary  membership  but  have  been 
required  to  hold  active  cards.  Foremen  have  frequently 
had  their  honorary  cards  annulled  for  hiring  scabs  or  for 
trying  to  run  non-union  shops. 

The  principles  of  the  extended  closed  shop  have  also  been 
observed  by  the  Holders.  As  early  as  March  19,  1865, 
local  union  No.  2  of  Troy  voted  that  members  should 
make  neither  stove  nor  machinery  work  for  struck  shops. 
In  1881  members  working  in  the  Victor  Stove  Company  of 
Salem,  Ohio,  refused  to  mold  certain  castings  intended  to 
fill  orders  for  a  struck  shop  'in  St.  Louis.  In  1886  the  In- 
ternational Union  provided  that  whenever  an  employer  who 
had  locked  out  his  hands  proposed  getting  his  work  made 
elsewhere,  it  should  "  be  the  duty  of  all  members  under  this 
jurisdiction  to  refuse  to  work  on  said  jobs."  ^^  In  1887 
occurred  the  "  great  lockout "  which  had  its  start  in  the 
Bridge  and  Beach  foundry  of  St.  Louis.  As  the  dispute 
with  foundrymen  through  the  Central  West  became  general, 
the  Holders'  executive  board,  for  tactical  reasons,  ordered 
members  in  the  eastern  shops  "  to  work  on  St.  Louis  pat- 
terns if  ofifered."  It  was  believed  that  the  manufacturers 
had  agreed  upon  a  general  lockout  and  that  they  were 
courting  the  rejection  of  patterns  "as  a  pretext  to  throw 
the  blame  on  the  molders."     The  international  officers  also 

11  Constitution,  1886,  art.  8,  sec.  7.  In  1890  the  rule  was  amended 
to  read  that  members  should  "  refuse  to  work  on  said  jobs  or  in 
any  shop  where  said  work  is  made"   (Proceedings,   1890,  p.  79). 

14 


2IO  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  [^598 

felt  that  it  was  necessary  to  affect  a  settlement  with  found- 
rymen  outside  of  St.  Louis,  if  possible,  since  the  finances 
of  the  organization  were  not  capable  of  standing  too  severe 
a  strain."  Two  years  later,  when  the  general  lockout  had 
subsided,  we  find  the  molders  once  more  sanctioning 
"  strikes  against  struck  patterns."  The  extended  closed 
shop  has  also  been  enforced  at  times  when  two  or  more 
foundries  have  been  operated  by  the  same  firm.  For  ex- 
ample, in  1909  the  executive  board  upheld  the  contention 
of  members  working  in  the  plant  of  the  American  Car  and 
Foundry  Company  at  Terre  Haute  that  a  second  foundry 
at  Indianapolis  should  be  unionized.  In  191 1  less  positive 
action  was  taken  with  General  Electric  Company  which  was 
running  union  in  its  Schenectady  plant  but  non-union  in 
Erie.  At  the  same  time  there  was  trouble  in  the  Pittsfield 
plant.  While  it  was  urged  in  some  quarters  that  a  strike 
at  Schenectady  would  have  a  good  effect  in  bringing  about 
full  unionization,  the  executive  board  finally  decided  to  use 
only  peaceful  efforts  to  obtain  an  agreement  covering  all 
shops  of  the  Company.  At  the  same  time,  however,  the 
board  voted  to  strike  all  shops  of  the  International  Steam 
Pump  Company  in  order  to  secure  "  more  effectiveness " 
for  strikes  being  waged  in  three  of  the  Company's  plants. 

The  joint  closed  shop  has  been  enforced  by  the  Molders 
and  allied  trades  in  several  instances.  In  the  previous 
discussion  relating  to  sympathetic  strikes^^  the  Holders' 
policy  in  regard  to  joint  action  has  been  reviewed  suffi- 
ciently to  make  further  treatment  of  it  unnecessary. 

In  securing  the  establishment  of  the  closed  shop  the 
Molders  have  resorted  to  various  methods.  During  the 
sixties  and  seventies  it  was  common  after  unsuccessful 
strikes  to  "open"  shops  to  union  men.  Members  were 
even  allowed  to  work  in  some  scab  shops,  since  local  unions 
at  this  time  exhibited  such  propensities  for  scabbing  found- 
ries  for  every  possible  cause  that  there  were  few  union 

12  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  May,  1887,  p.  10. 
12  See  pp.  108-113. 


599^  "^^^   CLOSED  SHOP,   LABEL,   AND   BOYCOTT  211 

shops  left.  It  was  soon  found  out  that  mere  scabbing  did 
not  convert  a  plant  into  a  union  establishment.  Hence,  the 
1872  convention  recommended  that  scab  shops  all  over  the 
country  be  "  opened  "  so  that  members  could  enter  them  for 
the  purpose  of  winning  them  back.  Two  years  later  Pres- 
ident Saffin  declared  this  policy  to  be  wrong  since  "  not  one 
shop  has  ever  been  redeemed  by  such  a  course,  while  many 
shops  have  been  redeemed  by  union  men  refusing  to  work 
with  a  scab.  .  ,  .  Instead  of  making  union  shops,  the  result 
of  this  course  is  usually  that  the  so-called  union  men  get  care- 
less, become  tainted,  are  first  suspended  for  non-payment  of 
dues,  and  if  trouble  comes,  are  finally  expelled  for  scab- 
bing." ^*  In  spite  of  Baffin's  protest  it  has  continued  to  be 
the  policy  of  the  organization  in  many  cases  to  secure 
closed-shop  establishments  through  a  process  of  gradual 
unionization.  Peaceful  persuasion  of  non-members  has  not 
always  been  carried  to  the  point  of  getting  a  full  organiza- 
tion in  the  shop,  however,  since  strikes  have  frequently 
been  inaugurated  to  secure  the  closed  shop  when  a  union 
majority  has  been  obtained.  "Working  under  cover"  has 
also  been  resorted  to  as  a  method  of  "  fighting  the  devil  with 
fire."  This  scheme  has  enabled  the  union  to  organize  shops 
in  secrecy  where  the  employers  have  been  anti-unionists. 

The  Holders  have  always  enforced  the  closed  shop 
through  the  card  system.  The  first  convention  of  1859 
adopted  a  "  union  card  "  to  "  be  furnished  to  any  member 
in  good  standing  going  from  one  union  to  another,"  and 
prohibited  the  use  of  any  other  kind  of  card.^^  The  "  union 
card "  in  after  years  became  known  as  the  "  clean  card," 
and  finally  as  the  "  active  card,"  to  distinguish  it  from  the 
"  honorary  card."  As  soon  as  the  bearer  of  a  card  obtains 
employment  under  a  local  union  he  is  supposed  to  deposit 
his  card  with  it.  As  long  as  he  pays  his  dues  regularly  he 
is  entitled  to  a  new  card.  His  standing  with  the  union  is 
determined  from  time  to  time  by  his  record  on  the  books 

1*  International  Journal,  August,   1874,  p.  55. 
^^  Proceedings,    1859,  p.    10. 


212  THE  INTERNATIONAL  MOLDERS  UNION  [600 

of  the  local  financial  secretary.  Since  1899  the  Holders 
have  also  employed  a  "  stamp  book "  in  which  a  stamp 
is  pasted  when  a  member  pays  his  weekly  dues.  A  paid-up 
stamp  book,  however,  is  not  acceptable  in  lieu  of  an  active 
card  as  a  proper  credential  for  a  traveling  molder.  In 
hundreds  of  instances  traveling  molders  have  continued 
to  work  in  new  jurisdictions  "  with  their  cards  in  their 
pockets."  To  compel  adherence  to  the  rule  that  all  cards 
must  be  deposited  promptly,  delinquent  members  may  be 
fined  or  have  their  cards  annulled. 

The  enforcement  of  the  closed  shop  has  been  taken  care 
of  locally  by  "  union,"  "  finance,"  or  "  shop  committees," 
which  are  set  up  in  each  foundry  which  the  organization 
endeavors  to  control.  These  committees  receive  cards  from 
traveling  members  and  keep  on  the  watch  for  non-members 
employed  in  their  shops.  "  Shop  stewards  "  or  "  shop  col- 
lectors "  usually  collect  union  dues  from  members  in  the 
various  foundries  although  the  committees  just  mentioned 
are  sometimes  employed  for  this  service. 

The  Label. — In  November,  1880,  President  Fitzpatrick 
called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Cigar  Makers  had 
recently  adopted  a  union  label  "  for  all  cigars  actually  made 
by  members  of  the  union"  and  expressed  the  opinion  that 
a  similar  device  "  furnished  to  employers  running  union 
foundries  would  have  a  good  effect."  ^®  The  Cigar  Mak- 
ers' experiment  was  so  novel,  however,  that  not  until  1884 
did  a  second  advocate  of  a  molders'  label  appear.  In  that 
year  a  St.  Louis  member  argued  that  if  the  Molders  would 
copyright  their  seal  "  or  some  other  suitable  trade  mark  and 
then  place  this  upon  every  stove  that  leaves  the  union 
foundries,"  the  "union  stove,"  thus  marked,  would  soon 
drive  all  "  scab  stoves  "  out  of  the  market,  much  to  the  ben- 
efit of  fair  employers  and  competent  mechanics. ^^  In  April, 
1886,  the  executive  board  approved  the  adoption  of  a  label 
and  urged  local  unions  to  give  "  due  consideration  "  to  the 

!•  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  November,  1880,  p.  5. 
17  Ibid.,  September,  1884,  P-  3- 


60lJ  THE   CLOSED  SHOP,   LABEL,   AND   BOYCOTT  213 

matter  at  the  next  convention.  At  this  meeting  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  board  were  approved  in  a  standing  reso- 
lution which  provided  "that  a  uniform  device,  design,  or 
mark  be  adopted  by  this  union  to  be  placed  on  all  cast- 
ings, to  designate  free  and  union-made  work,  the  same  to 
be  copyrighted  and  distributed  among  the  subordinate 
unions  for  use  by  all  foundrymen  who  conduct  fair  estab- 
lishments." ^^  The  form  and  design  on  the  label  were  left 
in  the  hands  of  the  executive  board.  After  concluding 
that  a  metal  device  would  be  impracticable,  the  board  de- 
cided in  favor  of  a  paper  label  to  be  pasted  on  castings. 

The  paper  label  soon  displayed  many  disadvantages.  It 
proved  difficult  to  obtain  a  satisfactory  paste.  Frequently 
labels  were  badly  mutilated  or  actually  torn  off  when  cast- 
ings were  being  handled.  It  was  discovered,  too,  that  firms 
to  which  labels  were  issued  often  sent  the  labels  to  retailers 
who  placed  them  upon  castings  when  customers  demanded 
union-made  goods.  This  practice  obviously  opened  the 
way  for  affixing  labels  to  goods  which  were  not  union-made. 
In  view  of  these  facts  it  was  voted  in  1899  to  have  the  label 
consist  of  an  impression  placed  in  the  patterns  in  such  a 
way  as  to  be  both  conspicuous  and  artistic.  It  was  soon 
discovered,  however,  that  foundrymen  would  not  tolerate 
such  a  device.  Accordingly,  in  1902  the "  white  paper 
label "  was  restored  after  having  been  used,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  during  the  entire  three-year  period  of  its  official  re- 
jection. Provision  was  also  made  in  1902  for  stamping 
every  label  with  the  number  of  the  issuing  subordinate 
union.  The  international  officers  were  empowered  to  have 
the  label  copyrighted  and  to  prosecute  infringements. 

As  noted  above,  the  label  was  limited  from  the  first  to 
the  use  of  "  fair "  establishments,  that  is,  shops  employing 
union  men  only  and  observing  union  rules.  Soon  after 
the  adoption  of  the  label  it  was  stated  that  the  device  was 
"  a  guarantee  "  that  every  casting  carrying  it  "  was  made 
by  competent  first  class  workmen  who  have  served  a  regular 

18  Proceedings,  1886,  p.  56. 


214  '^^^  INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  \JS02 

apprenticeship  of  the  Iron  Holders'  Union  "  and  that  the 
firm  which  manufactured  label  goods  was  "giving  employ- 
ment to  .  .  .  our  members  and  organization  "  in  preference 
to  "  prisoners  and  other  inferior  workmen.  .  .  ."  ^*  After 
1895  employers  operating  two  or  more  foundries  were 
denied  the  use  of  the  label  unless  all  of  their  establishments 
were  "strictly  union  shops."  In  1899  the  use  of  the  label 
was  withheld  from  foundrymen  who  did  not  pay  the 
average  wage  rates  prevailing  in  their  districts.  The  orig- 
inal rules  relating  to  the  label  provided  that  it  should  be 
placed  upon  "  all  castings "  made  under  union  conditions. 
In  practice,  however,  the  Molders  have  never  forced  an 
employer  to  use  the  label  against  his  will. 

At  the  annual  conference  held  between  the  Molders  and 
the  Stove  Founders'  National  Defense  Association  in  1904 
it  was  asserted  that  those  association  members  who  did  not 
use  the  label  were  virtually  being  boycotted  by  the  cam- 
paign against  non-label  stoves.  The  Defense  Association 
declared  that  this  state  of  afifairs  was  not  compatible  with 
the  friendly  relations  existing  between  the  two  organiza- 
tions. The  Association  further  stated  that  it  would  like 
to  drop  the  use  of  the  label  altogether.  In  case  this  were 
not  possible,  it  proposed  that  its  members  who  did  not 
employ  the  label  be  given  certificates  as  evidences  of  their 
compliance  with  general  union  regulations.  President  Val- 
entine responded  for  the  Molders  that  such  certificates  could 
not  be  granted  except  to  proprietors  of  strictly  union  shops. 
At  the  time  there  were  twenty  or  more  members  of  the 
Defense  Association  who  ran  open  shops  and  who  would  not 
have  consented  to  unionization.  The  difficulty  was  finally 
settled  by  the  Molders'  representatives  agreeing  that  their 
organization  would  not  "  itself  or  by  any  of  its  agents  in 
any  manner  discriminate  against  the  goods  manufactured 
or  sold  by  any  member  of  the  Stove  Founders'  National 
Defense  Association  because  of  the  unwillingness  of  the 

19  Iron  Molders'  Journal,  March,  1887,  p.  10.  In  1888  it  was  re- 
ported that  many  employers  had  been  refused  the  use  of  the  label 
because  they  did  not  observe  the  apprenticeship  ratio. 


603J  THE   CLOSED  SHOP,   LABEL,   AND   BOYCOTT  215 

members  of  said  Association  to  use  the  label."     A  copy  of 
this  agreement  was  ordered  sent  to  every  local  union.^" 

While  the  Holders  have  not  used  direct  pressure  to  estab- 
lish a  wide  employment  of  the  label,  they  have  at  all  times 
carried  on  a  campaign  of  publicity.  Soon  after  1886  sev- 
eral local  unions  endeavored  to  promote  the  label  by  plac- 
ing advertisements  in  newspapers,  by  having  exhibits  at 
industrial  fairs,  by  soliciting  dealers  to  handle  label  stoves, 
by  issuing  circulars,  and  by  getting  endorsements  for  the 
label  from  other  trade  unions  or  from  central  labor  bodies. 
"  Label  committees  "  have  generally  directed  these  activities. 
From  May  to  December,  1899,  local  union  No.  210  of  Perry- 
ville,  Maryland,  published  a  monthly  paper  called  the  Union 
Label  for  the  purpose  of  creating  a  demand  among  union 
men  generally  for  all  union  labels,  but  particularly  for 
the  Holders'  label.  Since  many  local  unions  did  very  little 
to  push  the  label  it  was  urged  that  the  International  Union 
take  a  more  active  part  in  directing  label  propaganda.  In 
1890  it  was  resolved  to  ask  for  recognition  of  the  label  by 
the  Farmers'  Alliance  and  to  have  organizers  "  handle  the 
label"  on  their  travels.  In  1895  organizers  were  required 
to  devote  part  of  their  time  to  lectures  in  the  interest  of 
the  label.  The  1895  convention  also  voted  to  "  bring  about 
closer  relations  with  the  carpenters  and  joiners  and  all 
federated  trades  and  decide  upon  a  place  where  hardware 
bearing  the  label  could  be  bought  direct  from  the  manu- 
facturer instead  of  [from]  the  hardware  trust." -^  Ap- 
parently nothing  was  done  to  give  efifect  to  this  resolution. 
In  1899  the  international  president  and  executive  board 
were  voted  a  "  reasonable  sum "  to  be  used  at  their  dis- 
cretion for  label  agitation.  In  1902-1903  a  grant  of 
$259.41  was  made  to  the  New  England  Conference  Board 
under  this  provision.  During  the  same  period  a  special 
organizer  was  placed  in  the  field  to  make  an  active  cam- 
paign against  non-union  stoves  and  a  facsimile  of  the  label 

20  Ibid.,  April,  1904,  p.  237. 

21  Proceedings,  1895,  pp.  78,  81. 


2l6  THE   INTERNATIONAL   HOLDERS  UNION  (]604 

was  put  in  all  stamp  books  in  order  that  members  might  be- 
come familiar  with  the  design.  In  1913  the  executive  board 
sent  an  organizer  on  an  extended  tour  throughout  the  South 
to  work  up  a  greater  demand  for  union-made  stoves.  This 
campaign,  which  was  designed  not  so  much  to  increase  the 
demand  for  the  label  as  for  union-made  stoves  in  general, 
achieved  considerable  success. 

As  early  as  May,  1887,  ten  local  unions  were  reported  as 
supplying  labels  to  employers  in  their  respective  districts. 
At  the  1888  convention  President  Fitzpatrick  stated  that 
since  February  14,  1887,  a  total  of  30,000  labels  had  been 
issued.  By  the  latter  part  of  1889  thirty-one  firms  were 
using  the  label.  Although  it  would  seem  that  fair  results 
had  been  attained  in  a  comparatively  short  time,  there  were 
those  who  declared  that  the  label  was  "a  most  pronounced 
failure  "  because  it  had  not  been  properly  advertised.  In 
1897  only  twelve  concerns  were  reported  as  using  the  label. 
In  1903,  however,  the  New  England  Conference  Board  was 
able  to  state  that  its  activities  had  resulted  in  the  use  of 
the  label  by  "every  stove  foundry"  within  its  jurisdiction. 
In  recent  years  the  label  has  been  used  by  from  fifty  to 
seventy  firms,  chiefly  manufacturers  of  stoves  and  furnaces. 

The  results  obtained  up  to  1907  led  the  Holders  in  that 
year  to  declare  the  label  to  be  organized  labor's  most  ef- 
ficient weapon.  Much  earlier  than  this,  union  members 
held  that  the  label  was  the  only  instrument  for  defense 
against  prison-made  castings  and  stoves.  While  it  is  true 
that  the  label  has  brought  considerable  benefit  to  the  Mold- 
ers,  it  has  failed  in  many  respects.  The  machinery  branch 
of  the  trade  in  particular  has  presented  difficulties  in  using 
the  label.  In  1895  President  Fox  explained  the  situation 
as  follows :  "  Placing  the  label  on  castings  and  specialty 
goods  has  not  been  successful,  because  .  .  .  castings,  pro- 
miscuously made,  leave  the  foundry  in  an  unfinished  con- 
dition, and  are  handled  by  others,  and  when  leaving  their 
hands  have  no  evidence  of  make  discernible,  because  of 
the  process  they  are  put  through  to  bring  them  to  a  finished 


605]]  THE   CLOSED  SHOP,   LABEL,   AND   BOYCOTT  217 

state."  In  the  stove  branch  of  the  trade  the  Holders  have 
been  handicapped  because  foundrymen  have  objected  to 
conspicuous  labels  on  the  ground  that  they  detract  from 
the  appearance  of  stoves  in  the  market.  Again,  as  Pres- 
ident Fox  said  in  1895,  "  while  the  cigarmakers,  printers, 
and  other  organizations  can  point  with  pride  to  the  success 
of  their  label,"  the  Holders  "  are  unable  to  do  the  same 
.  .  .  because  the  conditions  in  those  trades  are  more  favor- 
able "  than  in  the  molding  industry.     He  further  said : 

The  purchase  of  a  cigar  calls  for  a  small  expenditure  of  money, 
and  that,  too,  by  a  man  who  may  or  may  not  belong  to  a  union; 
and  the  same  can  also  be  said  of  a  bill  for  printing,  which,  if  the 
label  does  not  appear  upon  it,  it  is  the  purchaser's  option  to  de- 
cline, as  union-labeled  cigars  and  printing  can  be  had  almost  any- 
where. But  not  so  with  a  stove,  which,  besides  calling  for  a  con- 
siderable outlay  of  money,  is  generally  bought  by  women,  who,  no 
doubt,  are  controlled  more  by  the  price  than  by  any  other  considera- 
tion. Besides  this,  stoves  of  certain  makes  and  names  have,  on 
account  of  their  superior  advantages,  established  for  themselves 
a  trade  which  the  dealers  find  greatly  to  their  advantage  in  sup- 
plying, because  of  the  demand  made  for  them  by  their  customers, 
who  will  have  no  other.22 

With  such  conditions  existing  it  is  but  natural  that  stove 
manufacturers  should  declare  that  the  use  of  the  label  is 
advantageous  "  only  in  the  few  well  organized  centers."  ^^ 

While  the  Holders  have  not  been  as  successful  as  several 
other  unions  in  their  label  policy,  they  have  not  suffered 
materially  on  that  account.  The  Holders  have  always  been 
a  militant  organization,  depending  upon  a  substantial  finan- 
cial policy  and  bold  strikes  for  their  advance  rather  than 
upon  the  negative  boycott  of  the  label.  Their  main  object 
has  always  been  to  bring  foundries  under  union  control. 
Whether  such  establishments,  once  unionized,  use  the  label 
or  not,  is  a  secondary  matter. 

The  Boycott. — To  a  limited  extent  the  Holders  have 
made  use  of  the  boycott.  For  the  most  part  boycotts  have 
been  imposed  by  local  unions  rather  than  by  the  general 

22  Ibid.,  p.  21. 

23  Ibid.,  1899,  p.  15.  So  little  was  the  Holders'  label  known  in 
some  quarters  that  the  statement  was  made  at  the  Connecticut 
state  branch  of  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  in  1900  that 
the  Molders  did  not  have  such  a  device. 


2l8  THE   INTERNATIONAL   MOLDERS  UNION  [6o6 

convention.  What  was  apparently  the  first  boycott  or- 
dered by  the  general  convention  was  instituted  in  1867. 
Prior  to  the  recent  legal  decisions  restricting  the  use  of  the 
boycott  on  interstate  commerce,  it  was  customary  to  publish 
the  names  of  boycotted  firms  in  the  official  union  journal 
for  several  issues  until  the  boycott  had  been  removed  or 
until  it  had  grown  "  stale."  Generally  speaking,  the  Hold- 
ers have  not  found  the  boycott  a  very  effective  instrument. 
The  products  of  machinery  and  jobbing  shops  are  used 
chiefly  by  manufacturing  concerns,  railroads,  and  other 
enterprises  which  care  little  whether  castings  are  made  by 
"  fair  "  establishments  or  not.  It  is  also  difficult  to  boycott 
stoves  with  much  success  because  they  are  purchased  largely 
by  the  middle  classes  who  have  little  interest  in  the 
battles  of  labor  organizations,  and  because  they  are  pur- 
chased at  long  intervals,  sell  for  fairly  high  prices  and  are 
not  well  suited  to  the  use  of  the  union  label.  The  leaders 
of  the  union  have  always  counseled  moderation  in  the  use 
of  the  boycott  and  have  urged  that  it  be  employed  only  as 
a  last  resort.  Perhaps  the  best  known  boycott  in  Nthe  mold- 
ing industry  was  the  one  started  against  the  Buck  Stove  and 
Range  Company  in  1906.  This  boycott  was  begun  by  the 
Metal  Polishers  and  was  endorsed  by  the  Holders  as  a  part 
of  I  the  American  Federation  of  Labor  when  the  latter  put 
the  firm  on  its  unfair  list. 


NDEX 


Administrative  expenses,  76. 

Agricultural  molders,  43. 

Albany,  early  unions  in,  12,  i6, 
18;  Founders'  League  in,  17, 
116. 

Amalgamation,   45,   46-47,   53-56. 

American  Federation  of  Labor, 
51-52,  79,  111-113,  162,  218. 

American  Foundrymen's  Asso- 
ciation,   127,    169. 

American  Iron  Founders'  Asso- 
ciation, 117,  118. 

American  Locomotive   Company, 

153,  158- 

Amnesties,  66-69. 

Apprenticeship,  as  qualification 
for  membership,  57-59;  ratios, 
15,  17,  118,  125,  170-175;  term 
of,  175-176;  age  of  admission 
to,  176;  training  during,  176- 
178;  obligations  to  employer 
during,   178-179. 

Arbitration,  123,  124,  128. 

Ashworth,  J.  H.,  179  (note), 
182  (note),  185  (note). 

Auditing,  81-82,  83. 

Barford,  Joseph  A.,  15. 
Barnett,  G.  E.,  137  (note). 
Bench  molders,  42,  44,  153-154. 
"  Berkshire,"  origin  of  term,  179 

(note).     See  Helpers. 
Board  prices,  139,  146. 
Bonding,  80-81. 
Boston,  early  union  in,   12. 
Boycott,  217-218. 
Brass    molders,    15,    42,    43,    44; 

jurisdiction  over,  50-52. 
Bridge  and  Beach  Company,  47- 

48,  121-122,   126,  209-210. 
Broadmeadow,  J.  P.,  187. 
Brotherhood  of  Machinery  Mold- 

ers.  48-50. 
"  Buck."     See   "  Berkshire  "   and 

Helpers. 
Buffalo,  early  union  in,   16,   18. 


Business  agents,  2"]  (note),  35 
(note),  37,  38,  39,  107  (note), 
108. 

Canadian  unions,  16,  20  and  note, 

21  (note),  41,  44,  79,  162. 
Canal  Zone,  42. 
Card  system,  19,  -j^,,  211-212. 
"  Cat  skinners,"  144. 
Cheetham,  E.  T.,  190   (note). 
Chicago,  early  union  in,   15-16. 
Chill  cracks,  142,  144, 
Cincinnati,    cooperative    foundry 

in,    12-13 ;    early   union   in,    14. 
Civil  War,  period  of,  20-21. 
Closed    shop,    126,    131,    203-212, 

213-214. 
Collector,  shop,  40,  212. 
Commons,  J.  R.,  13   (note)  ;  and 

Andrews,    J.    B.,    117    (note), 

118    (note)  ;   and   Sumner,   H., 

12  (note),  159  (note). 
Competency,   as  qualification   for 

membership,  57-59. 
Conference    boards,    36-38,    215, 

216;  finances  of,  83. 
Conferences,    national,    79,    123- 

127,  128-136. 
Constitution,  amendment  of,  30- 

34. 
Conventions,  18-21,  24-25,  32-35, 

78- 
Cooperation,  productive,  12-13. 

Coremakers,  43,  44,  61,  62-63, 
127,  152-153,  158;  jurisdiction 
over,  52-156. 

Core  Makers'  International  Un- 
ion, 53-5f'- 

Corresponding  representative,  27, 
82-83. 

Dayton,  early  union  in,  15. 

Death  benefits,  for  active  mem- 
bers, 85-89;  for  honorary 
members,  93-94. 

Defective  materials,  141-144. 


15 


219 


220 


INDEX 


[608 


Detroit  Resolutions,  129. 
Differentials,  wage,  129,  131,  152- 

155,  196-197- 
Dinner  hour,   167. 
Dirty  iron,   141-142,  143-144. 
Disability    benefits,    64,    92.     See 

Death  benefits. 
District  unions,  35-36. 
Donation  stamps,  97-98. 
Dues,  union,  70-73. 
Dull  iron,  1 41-143. 

Endowment  funds,  89  (note). 
Equalization,  wage,  139-141,  158, 

198-199. 
Executive     board,     international, 

27,  28-30,  31-32,  27,  39,  42-43, 

65,   70,    77,    106,    107,    115,    125- 
Expenditures,  international  union, 

74-79;    conference    board,    83; 

local  union,  84. 
Expulsion,  65,  204,  209. 

Factory  Investigating  Committee 
of   State  of   New  York,  62. 

Federated  Metal  Trades,  109,  iH. 

Fidelity  Department,  81. 

Financial   administration,   79-^3- 

Financier,  80,  81,  83,  91,  96,  97- 

Fitzpatrick,  President,  47,  49,  105, 
182.  212,  216. 

Foundrymen's  associations,  early, 
17-18,  1 16-120. 

Fox,  Martin,  54,  55,  106-107,  128, 
151,  162,  169,  172-173,  183,  190- 
191,  216-217. 

Frey,  John  P.,  35,  63  (note),  158 
(note)  ;  and  Commons,  J.  R., 
119  (note),  121  (note),  122 
(note),  125  (note),  126  (note), 
140  (note),  141  (note),  142 
(note),  144-145,  151  (note), 
172    (note). 

Friendly  and  beneficial  societies, 

13- 
Friendly  Society  of   Iron  Mold- 

ers  of  America,  13. 
Funds,  system  of,  70,  72-73,  88, 

96-97,  107. 

Gangway  count,  144-145. 
Gates,  President,  128. 
General    Electric   Company,    195, 
210. 


Handy-men,  58,  202. 
Hawaiian  Islands,  42,  44. 
Heater-work  molders,  43. 
Helpers,   15,  16,  17,  57,  II4,  118, 

119,  159;  services  of,  179-180; 

regulation  of,  180-185. 
High-dues  policy,  34,  71,  72>- 
Hilbert,   F.  W.,   129   (note),   131 

(note),  132  (note). 
Hoagland,   H.  E.,   13    (note),   14 

(note),    18    (note). 
Hollowware,  11,  42,  44. 
Home,  Molders',  99. 
Honorary  members,  63-65,  209. 

Indenture,  apprentice,  170-171, 
177,   178. 

Industrial  unionism,  44-45,  56. 

Initiation   fee,  72,  88. 

Initiative  and  referendum.  See 
Referendum. 

Insufficient  iron,   141-143. 

Insurance,  straight,  89-90. 

International  Molders'  Union  of 
North  America,  21   (note). 

Iron  Founders'  and  Machine 
Builders'  Association  of  the 
Falls  of  the  Ohio,  117,  206. 

Iron  Molders'  Beneficial  Associa- 
tion of  North  America,  85-87. 

Iron  Molders'  International  Un- 
ion, 21    (note). 

Iron  Molders'  Union  of  Amer- 
ica, 21    (note). 

Iron  Molders'  Union  of  North 
America,    21    (note). 

Journal,  official,  73,  77,  78. 

Journeymen  Iron  Moulders'  As- 
sociation, Section  No.  I,  of  the 
State  of  Pennsylvania,  14. 

Journeymen  Iron  Moulders'  So- 
ciety,   13. 

Journeymen  Stove  and  Hollow- 
ware  Moulders'  Union  of 
Philadelphia,  15. 

Jurisdiction,  territorial,  41-44  > 
trade,  44-45;  over  machinery 
molders,  48-50;  over  brass 
molders,  50-52;  over  coremak- 

ers,  52-56. 

I 

Knights  of  Labor,  2>^,  45-48,  50. 


6o9] 


INDEX 


221 


Label,  union,  212-217. 
Limitation    of     output,     148-15 1, 

155-157.  193,  194,  196,  197.  198- 

Litigation,  cost  of,  79. 

Local  unions,  number  of,  23 ; 
government  of,  39-40;  fi- 
nances of,  84;  jurisdiction  of, 
42-44. 

Lockouts,  114-115,  182. 

McCabe,  D.  A.,  139  (note),  141, 
152,  154  (note),  155-156,  I57 
(note). 

McCormick  Harvesting  Machine 
Company,  188,  189. 

Machinery  molders,  48-50. 

Malleable-iron  molders,  43,  44. 

Membership  statistics,  23. 

Metal  Polishers,  Buffers,  Platers, 
and  Brass  Workers'  Union  of 
North  America,  51-52,  218. 

Metal    Trades'    Department,    79, 

III-II3- 

Metal  Trades'  Federation,  no, 
III. 

Metcalf,  Financier,  99. 

Mexico  City,  41. 

Military  service,  benefits  to  mem- 
bers in,  88-89,  92. 

Mills,  J.  C,  186  (note),  187 
(note). 

Molders'  Life  Insurance  Associa- 
tion, 89-90. 

Molding  machines,  operators  of, 
43,  44,  58-59,  190-198,  200-201 ; 
prices  on,  125,  198-200;  types 
of,  186-187;  efifect  of,  200-202. 

National  Founders'  Association, 
69,  -J^,  74-75,  127-136,  151,  153- 
155,  156-157.  164-165,  174,  194- 
197,  200-201,  207-208. 

National  Stove  Manufacturers' 
Association,  1 19-120. 

National  Union  of  Iron  Molders. 
19. 

Nebraska  Foundrymen's  Associa- 
tion, 158. 

Negroes,  membership  of,  59-6l- 

Nevir  York,  early  union  in,  13. 

New  York  Agreement,  128. 

O'Connor,  D.  W.,  I59  (note). 


Office  management,  cost  of,  ^/^- 

78. 
Officers,  international,  25-30,  34- 

35,  76;   local  union,  39;   shop, 

40. 
O'Leary,  J.  O.,  62  (note). 
Open    shop,    120,    127,    129,    136, 

201.     See  Closed  shop. 
Organizers,    special,    27     (note), 

108,  215-216. 
Organizing,  cost  of,  '/6-77. 
Ostracism,  113-114. 
Out-of-work  benefits,  94-98. 
Overture,  11,  134,  167. 

Panic   of    1857,    17;   of    1873,  23, 

67-68  87;   of    1893.  23,  68-69, 

95. 
Penton,  John,  49. 
Philadelphia,  early  unions  in,  11- 

12,  14-15,  17.  18. 
Piece  rates,  nature  of,   137-147  J 

opposition  to,  147-152,   160. 
Pittsburgh,  early  union  in,  12. 
Premium  plans,   157-158. 
President,    international,    25,    30, 

39,  40,  65,  67-68,  71,  79,  80,  86. 

87,  loi,  102,  104,  105-106,  107, 

108. 
Price  book,  145-146. 
Price  committees,  39,  40. 
Protectorate,  60. 

Radiator  molders.  43,  44. 
Reading,  early  union  in,  15. 
Receipts,  table  of,  74. 
Referendum,   25,   30-35,    101-105. 
Reinstatement,  38,  65-6<). 
Revenue,   international,   70-74. 
Right  to  the  trade,  181-182. 
Roach,  J.  E.,  161  (note). 

Saffin,  President,  29,  32,  68,  87, 
104  and  note.  105,  114.  160-161, 
168,  171,  176.  182,  211. 

Sakolski,  A.  M.,  72i  (note),  y4 
(note),  76,  77-78,  7Q  (note), 
80,  82  (note),  86  (note). 

Salaries,  officers',  76. 

Sand,  handling  of,  144.  167,  179, 
182.  183,  184. 

Saturday  half  holiday,  168. 


222 


INDEX 


[6io 


Schenectady,  early  union  in,  12. 
Secret    service,    27     (note),     119 

(note). 
Secretary,    international,    80,    82, 

96,  97. 
Set  day's  work,  155-157. 
Seven-o'clock  law,  160-161,  166. 
Sharon,   cooperative    foundry   in, 

13. 

Shop  government,  40,  212. 

Shop  practices,  changes  in,  132, 
13s. 

Shorter  work-day,  theory  of,  168- 
169. 

Sick  benefits,  for  active  mem- 
bers, 90-92 ;  for  honorary  mem- 
bers, 93-94. 

Squeezers,  187. 

Stamp  receipt  system,  82,  212. 

Standard  agreement,  133-134,  I35- 

State  unions.  See  District 
unions. 

Stecker,  Miss  M.  L.,  129-130,  131 
(note),  200-201. 

Steubenville,  cooperative  foundry 
in,  13. 

Stockton,  F.  T.,  206  (note). 

Stove  Founders'  National  De- 
fense Association,  75,  120-127, 
130,  139,  140-141.  142-144,  146, 
149-150,  158,  166-167,  171-174, 
^17,  183-184,  187-188,  197-199. 
201,  206-207,  214-215. 

Strikes,  funds  for,  70-71 ;  expen- 
ditures for,  74-75 ;  control  of, 
100-113;  benefits  for,  72,  100, 
101-108;  sjnnpathetic,  53,  54. 
55,  108-113. 


Sylvis,  William  H.,  18,  20,  21,  22, 
26,  27  (note),  66-67,  76,  102, 
103  (note),  105  (note),  118, 
119  (note),  160,  161,  189 
(note). 

Time  rates,  152-158. 

Travelling  members,  85,  90,  94- 

95,  100,  120  (note),  205,  212. 
Treasurer,   international,   ^2,   79- 

80,  81,  82,  83,  86,  87,  103,  107. 
Troy,  early  unions  in,  12,  16,  18. 
Trustees,  international,  28-30,  80, 

81,  102;  local,  39. 

Unemployment,  division  of  work 
during  periods  of,  98  (note). 

Union  Label  League,  79. 

Union  shop.     See  Closed  shop. 

United  States  Iron  Molders'  As- 
sociation of  the  City  of  Pitts- 
burgh and  County  of  Al- 
legheny, 12. 

Valentine,     President,     165,     192, 

214. 
Vice-presidents,  international,  27- 

29,  101-102,  104-105,  108,  125. 
Victimization,  58. 

Weir  Stove  Works,  molding  ma- 
chine prices  in,  199-200. 
Wheeling,  cooperative  foundry  in, 

13- 
Women,  exclusion  of,  61-63. 
Worcester,  early  union  in,  16. 


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